THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 

GIFT  OF 


Ada  McClelland 


HISTORIC  HOUSES 

AND    SPOTS 

IN 

CAMBRIDGE,  MASSACHUSETTS 

AND 

NEAR-BY  TOWNS 


J.  W.  FREESE 

PRINCIPAL   OF   THE  WASHINGTON   SCHOOL,    CAMBRIDGE 


'  God  sifted  a  whole  nation  that  He  might  send  choice  grain  over  into  this  wilderness  ' 


BOSTON,  U.S.A.,  AND  LONDON 
GINN    &    COMPANY,    PUBLISHERS 


1898 


COPYRIGHT,  1897 
BY   JOHX   W.    FREESE 

ALL   RIGHTS   RESERVED 


PREFACE. 


FOR  more  than  twelve  years  I  have  been  searching  out 
and  studying  the  most  ancient  homes  of  Cambridge  and 
other  historic  towns  and  cities  near  by,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
pupils  under  my  charge.  As  we  made  our  annual  rounds, 
the  disappearance  of  old  "landmarks"  became,  year  by 
year,  more  noticeable,  and  thus  it  occurred  to  me  that  a 
favor  might  be  conferred  upon  many  by  giving  in  this 
modest  little  work  definite  location  and  brief  account  of  the 
most  famous  old  houses.  To  the  schoolchildren  of  Cam- 
bridge and  other  places  this  work  may  be  specially  useful, 
supplemented  as  it  is  by  original  and  picturesque  views, 
and  also  by  brief  references  to  famous  persons  with  whose 
names  some  of  the  houses  are  associated. 

It  has  been  my  conviction  for  years  that  the  study  of 
local  history  is  the  best  introduction  to  the  study  of  more 
general  history,  and  in  this  view  I  have  been  confirmed  by 
the  ever-increasing  historical  pilgrimages,  and  above  all  by 
the  testimony  of  great  men  who  have  made  the  study  of 
history  their  profession.  Prof.  H.  B.  Adams,  of  Johns 
Hopkins  University,  says  : 

"  History,  like  charity,  begins  at  home.  .  .  .  The  best 
students  of  universal  history  are  those  who  know  some  one 
country  or  some  one  subject  well.  The  family,  the  hamlet, 
the  neighborhood,  the  community,  the  parish,  the  village, 
town,  city,  county,  and  State  are  historically  the  ways  by 
which  men  have  approached  national  and  international 
life." 


838468 


IV  PREFACE. 

The  facts  I  present  have  not  been  evolved  from  "  inner 
consciousness,"  for,  although  I  have  had  access  to  original 
sources,  I  have  also  gleaned  freely  from  Drake's  Land- 
marks and  various  local  histories.  My  indebtedness  is, 
therefore,  easily  seen  and  heartily  acknowledged. 

So  far  as  both  cover  the  same  ground,  Historic  Houses 
and  Walker's  Historical  Map  may  be  advantageously  used 
together. 

JOHN  W.  FREESE. 

CAMBRIDGE,  MASS.,  1897. 


NOTE. —  It  is  probably  true  that  the  writer  has  overlooked  some 
historic  house  or  spot  that,  in  the  mind  of  the  local  antiquarian, 
may  be  considered  important.  If  so,  correspondence  with  re- 
spect to  it  or  to  any  error  that  may  have  been  made  is  earnestly 
solicited,  to  the  end  that  this  book  may  be  made  as  useful  as  pos- 
sible, in  case  a  second  edition  should  be  called  for. 

J.  \V.  F. 


CONTEN  TS. 


PAGE 

INTRODUCTION        ...                 .....  1,2 

ARLINGTON         ..........    35-41 

BEDFORD         ..........  59-62 

BEVERLY      .        .        .         .        .        .        .        .        .        .  127,  128 

BILLERICA       ..........  63-65 

BOSTON 82-94 

CAMBRIDGE .  3-34 

CHARLESTOWN     .         .         .         .                  .         ,         .         .  139,  140 

CHELSEA 118-121 

CONCORD     ......                 .                 .  .    52-58 

DANVERS 129-131 

DEDHAM      ..........  106,107 

DORCHESTER  ..........  95~97 

HlNGHAM 109,  I  10 

IPSWICH  ...........    134 

JAMAICA  PLAIN   .........         104,  105 

LANCASTER 66 

LEXINGTON 4--$l 

LYNN 136,  137 

MALDEN       ...........          71 

MEDFORD •  67-69 

MILTON 98-100 


VI  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

MISCELLANEOUS  OLD  HOUSES       .                ....     141-144 
QUINCY       ....  Io8 

ROXBURY  ....       101-103 

SALEM  .      .      .      122-126 

SAUGUS jo, 

SOMERVILLE  ....  7S~8l 

STONEHAM  ...  ...  74 

SUDBURY       .  .......  1 1  I-II4 

SWAMPSCOTT  .  .  .  .138 

TOPSFIELD  .  .  .  .  j,2)  ,.,, 

WATERTOWN  .         .         .115-117 

WINCHESTER       ...  70 

WOBURN .  - 


LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

THE  ADAMS  HOUSES 108 

THE  AUSTIN  HOUSE 3 

THE  GOVERNOR  BELLINGIIAM  MANSION   .        .         .        .        .  118 

"THE  BISHOP'S  PALACE  " 15 

THE  OLD  BOWLDER 44 

THE  BRATTLE  HOUSE 5 

THE  BROWN  HOUSE  .        .         .        .        .        .         .        .        .  115 

THE  PARSON  CAPEN  HOUSE          .        .         .        .         .        .        -132 

CHRIST  CHURCH  (Cambridge) 13 

CHRIST  CHURCH  (Boston) 93 

THE  CRADOCK  HOUSE 68 

THE  HOME  OF  EMERSON       ........  56 

THE  EVERETT  HOUSE        ........  96 

THE  OLD  FAIRBANKS  HOUSE        .......  106 

THE  OLD  FIRST  CHURCH 124 

FANEUIL  HALL 88 

THE  HILL-BOARDMAN  HOUSE   .        .        .        .        .        •        •  135 

THE  LEE  HOUSE            .........  4 

THE  ABEL  LOCKE  HOUSE 37 

THE  LOWELL  HOUSE     .         .        .        .        .        .        .        •        .12 

THE  LONGFELLOW  HOUSE 7 

THE  OLD  MANSE            .        .                          57 


Vlll  LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

MASSACHUSETTS  HALL 21 

THE  MINUTE-MAN 54 

THE  MUNROE  TAVERN 47 

THE  REBECCA  NOURSE  HOUSE 129 

THE  OLD  STATE  HOUSE 86 

THE  OLD  SOUTH  CHURCH 84 

THE  PIERCE  HOUSE 95 

THE  OLD  POWDER  HOUSE 79 

THE  PRATT  HOUSE 120 

THE  PRESIDENT'S  HOUSE 17 

THE  ISAAC  ROYALL  HOUSE 67 

THE  RUGGLES  HOUSE n 

THE  SALTONSTALL-WHIPPLE  HOUSE 134 

"  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  "  HOUSE       .....  .128 

BENJAMIN  THOMPSON  HOUSE 72 

THE  SAMUEL  TUFTS  HOUSE      .......  76 

THE  VASSALL  MONUMENT 9 

THE  VOSE  HOUSE 98 

WARD  HOUSE        . 123 

THE  WASHINGTON  ELM 18 

THE  WATERHOUSE  HOUSE 20 

THE  WAYSIDE  INN .  in 

A  WOLF  PIT 136 

THE  AMOS  WYMAN  HOUSE 64 


HISTORIC   HOUSES  AND  SPOTS 


CAMBRIDGE,  MASSACHUSETTS,  AND    NEAR-BY    TOWNS. 


THE  citizens  of  Cambridge,  now  over  80,000  in  number, 
might  well  lay  claim  to  several  unique  distinctions  for  the 
city  of  which  they  are  so  justly  proud.  First,  it  must  be 
remembered  that  Cambridge  is  the  seat  of  the  oldest  and 
most  distinguished  university  in  America. 

The  opportunity  thus  offered  for  broad  learning  and  gen- 
erous culture  is  the  probable  reason  for  a  second  distinc- 
tion :  772.,  that  Cambridge  has  lately  become  also  the  seat 
of  Radcliffe  College.  Here  are  also  two  divinity  schools 
besides  the  one  directly  connected  with  the  University. 
The  spirit  of  emulation  fostered  by  these  institutions  of 
learning,  together  with  the  influence  of  several  excellent 
preparatory  schools,  has  undoubtedly  had  a  most  beneficial 
effect  upon  the  public  schools  and  should  receive  a  measure 
of  credit  for  their  efficiency.  The  public  schools  of  Cam- 
bridge are  noted  for  their  excellence.  As  Cambridge  was 
contemporaneous  with  Boston  in  her  settlement,  and  was 
also  for  a  time  the  seat  of  government,  she  has  left  the  im- 
press of  her  hand  upon  the  fundamental  law  of  our  beloved 
Commonwealth. 

Her  soil  was  also  the  first  rallying-point  of  patriots  to  repel 
British  aggression,  and  here  Washington  first  unsheathed  his 
sword  in  defence  of  our  liberties. 

In  fact  it  is  a  matter  of  some  surprise  that,  as  Lexington 
and  Concord  have  contended  with  some  spirit  as  to  which 
was  entitled  to  the  larger  share  of  honor  for  the  glorious 


2  HISTORIC    HOUSES    AND    SPOTS    IN    CAMBRIDGE. 

deeds  of  April  19,  1775,  Cambridge  should  not  also  have 
put  in  her  claim.  She  could  have  done  so  with  a  good 
show  of  reason,  for  the  first  detachment  of  British  troops 
for  Concord,  as  well  as  their  reinforcements,  passed  through 
Cambridge.  Those  of  the  early  morning  were  pursued  the 
whole  distance  to  Concord  by  a  company  of  Cambridge 
men,  about  seventy  in  number,  who  "  fully  participated  in 
the  perils  and  the  glory  of  that  day."  A  company  of  fifty 
minute-men,  twenty-five  of  whom  were  Cambridge  men,  had 
previously  been  formed  and  were  also  actively  engaged  on 
that  day.  "The  conflict  has  generally  been  called  the 
'  Concord  Fight '  or  the  '  Lexington  Battle  ' ;  but  the  carnage 
was  greater  in  this  town  than  in  any  other,  —  greater,  indeed, 
than  in  all  others  combined,  if  it  be  true,  as  has  been  stated 
by  a  diligent  investigator,  that  '  at  least  twenty-two  of  the 
Americans,  and  probably  more  than  twice  that  number  of 
the  British,  fell  in  West  Cambridge.'  Four  native  citizens 
were  killed  near  the  Jacob  Watson  House  (now  standing)  in 
North  Cambridge.  Thus  we  have  twenty-six,  or  more  than 
half  of  all  the  Americans  whose  lives  were  sacrificed  on  that 
memorable  day." 

Cambridge  bore  her  part  well  not  only  on  April  19,  but 
during  the  siege  of  Boston.  With  a  fort  at  Lechmere's  Point, 
another  —  Fort  Washington  —  on  Waverly  Street  (restored 
and  enclosed  by  the  city  with  a  costly  iron  fence),  and 
another  at  Captain  Patrick's  island,  the  town  may  be  said 
to  have  been  a  fortified  camp. 

Her  eminent  citizens,  native  and  adopted,  are  indeed  a 
crowning  distinction.  They  need  not  be  mentioned.  Every- 
body knows  them. 

Lastly,  Cambridge  is  the  mother  of  towns,  and  is  proud  of 
her  children.  At  one  time  her  territory  comprised  Brighton, 
Newton,  Arlington,  Lexington,  and  Billerica. 


Cambridge 


' 


THE   AUSTIN   HOUSE. 

This  interesting  old  house  is  now  numbered  21  Linnrean 
Street  and  was  built,  in  1657,  by  Deacon  Jonathan  Cooper 
and  continued  to  belong  to  his  descendants  for  three  gen- 
erations. In  the  will  of  Walter,  of  the  third  generation,  we 
rind  these  quaint  specifications:  "I  will  that  my  beloved 
wife,  Martha,  should  have  out  of  my  movable  property,  40 
pounds,  lawful  money,  also  my  silver  cup  and  my  Mare  and 
chair  and  the  best  cow  and  one  of  the  pigs.  ...  I  also  will 
that  she  should  have  the  west  half  of  my  dwelling  house 
and  the  liberty  of  the  ovens  in  t'other  room.'' 

It  became  successively  the  property  of  Jonathan  Hill, 
Deacon  Frost,  and,  in  1807,  of  the  late  Mrs.  Austin,  whose 
husband,  Rev.  Mr.  Seiders,  took  her  name.  She  died,  in 
1885,  childless. 


Cambridge. 


THE   LEE  HOUSE. 

This,  with  one  possible  exception  (the  Austin  House),  is 
the  oldest  house  now  standing  in  Cambridge. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  war  with  England  it  was  owned 
and  occupied  by  Judge  Joseph  Lee,  a  rather  lukewarm 
royalist,  who  lived  in  Boston  during  the  siege  but  was 
allowed  to  return  to  his  home  after  the  war,  where  he  died 
in  1802.  Of  all  the  historic  houses  of  Cambridge,  this,  to 
my  mind,  if  judged  by  its  venerable  outward  appearance, 
has  the  strongest  claim  to  the  title  of  "  antique." 

It  is  on  Brattle  Street,  near  Appleton  Street,  and  was 
probably  built  before  1660. 


Cambridge. 


THE   BRATTLE   HOUSE. 

This  is  on  Brattle  Street  (formerly  called  Tory  Row),  near 
Brattle  Square.  It  seems  first  to  have  been  occupied  by  a 
William  Brattle,  who  "  was  successively  physician,  preacher, 
and  lawyer."  During  the  siege  of  Boston  it  was  the  head- 
quarters of  General  Mifflin,  who  on  one  occasion  entertained 
here  the  accomplished  Abigail  Adams,  wife  of  John  Adams, 
presenting  to  her  his  eccentric  friend  General  Charles  Lee, 
together  with  his  (Lee's)  dog  "  Spada." 

After  the  war  the  property  was  restored  to  William  Brattle's 
son,  Thomas  Brattle,  who  expended  much  time  and  money 
in  cultivating  choice  flowers  and  fruits  on  the  grounds  that 
extended  from  Brattle  Square  to  Ash  Street  and  to  the  river. 
For  a  time  Margaret  Fuller  lived  here. 


Cambridge. 


THE   GOVERNOR   BELCHER  HOUSE. 

This  house  is  on  Brattle  Street,  corner  of  Hawthorn.  It 
was  built  about  1700,  and  came  into  the  possession  of  Jona- 
than Belcher  in  1717.  He  afterwards  became  Sir  Jonathan, 
and  was  governor  of  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire 
from  1730  till  1741. 

In  1736  it  became  the  property  of  Colonel  John  Vassall, 
who  sold  it  to  his  brother,  Major  Henry,  whose  widow, 
Penelope,  sister  of  Isaac  Royall,  lived  in  it  at  the  beginning 
of  hostilities.  Here  Dr.  Benjamin  Church,  the  first  dis- 
covered American  traitor  who  was  condemned  to  exile,  was 
for  a  time  a  prisoner.  The  vessel  on  which  he  sailed  for 
the  West  Indies  was  not  heard  from  afterward. 

This  house  was  probably  used  as  a  hospital  early  in  the 
war  of  the  Revolution.  The  owner  of  the  house,  Mrs. 
James,  states  that  on  one  of  the  old  doors  may  still  be  seen 
the  name  B.  Church,  Jr.,  heavily  cut  in  the  wood. 


Cambridge. 


THE   LONGFELLOW   HOUSE. 

This  Colonial  mansion  was  commonly  known  as  the 
Craigie  House,  but  is  now  usually  pointed  out  as  the  Long- 
fellow House.  It  is  numbered  105  Brattle  Street,  and  was 
built,  about  1759,  by  Colonel  John  Vassall  the  younger. 
He,  being  a  tory,  fled  at  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution. 
Soon  after  his  flight  the  house  was  occupied  by  Colonel 
John  Glover  with  his  regiment.  Washington  took  posses- 
sion July  15,  1775,  and  left  it  in  April,  1776. 

Then  in  succession  came  Nathaniel  Tracy,  Thomas 
Russell,  Andrew  Craigie  (who  entertained  here  the  Duke 
of  Kent,  father  of  Queen  Victoria),  Jared  Sparks,  Edward 
Everett,  and  Joseph  E.  Worcester  of  dictionary  fame. 

Longfellow  first  roomed  here  in  1837  and  afterward  in 
1843.  After  Mrs.  Craigie's  death  he  came  into  full  posses- 
sion of  the  house.  Here  nearly  all  his  works  were  written. 


THE    LONGFELLOW    HOUSE. 

Longfellow's  feeling  for  the  old  Colonial  house  was  one  of 
the  deepest  interest  and  veneration.  Miss  Longfellow  says, 
"  He  was  never  willing  to  make  the  slightest  change  in  even 
the  smallest  particular,  even  for  comfort  or  convenience." 
It  stands  to-day  as  it  was  originally  built  by  Colonel  Vassall, 
with  the  enlargements  by  Dr.  Craigie.  The  poet  sings  : 


Once,  ah!  once,  within  these  walls, 
One  whom  memory  oft  recalls, 
The  Father  of  his  Country  dwelt. 
And  yonder  meadows  broad  and  damp 
The  fires  of  the  besieging  camp 
Encircled  with  a  burning  belt. 
Up  and  down  these  echoing  stairs, 
Heavy  with  the  weight  of  cares, 
Sounded  his  majestic  tread ; 
Yes,  within  this  very  room 
Sat  he  in  those  hours  of  gloom, 
Weary  both  in  heart  and  head. 

LONGFELLOW. 


The  room  occupied  by  Washington  was  a  large  second- 
story  front  room,  facing  southeast.  The  room  underneath 
it  was  used  by  Washington  for  his  study  and  later  by 
Longfellow  for  the  same  purpose. 

Once,  during  the  siege  of  Boston,  Washington  entertained 
Franklin  here,  concerning  whom,  on  this  occasion,  General 
Greene  said  : 

"  Attention  watched  his  lips, 
And  conviction  closed  his  periods." 


Cambridge. 


THE   VASSAL!  MONUMENT. 

This  is  in  the  ancient  burying-ground,  Massachusetts 
Avenue,  near  Harvard  Square.  Its  horizontal  (red  sand- 
stone) slab  has  cut  upon  its  upper  surface  a  vase  and  an 
image  of  the  sun,  —  a  hint  of  the  origin  of  the  name  Vassall 
(vassol). 

If  rumor  can  be  credited,  two  slaves  were  buried  here, 
one  at  the  head,  the  other  at  the  foot,  of  the  tomb  of  Madame 
Vassall. 

In  the  village  churchyard  she  lies, 
Dust  is  in  her  beautiful  eyes ; 

No  more  she  breathes,  nor  feels,  nor  stirs  ; 
At  her  feet  and  at  her  head 
Lies  a  slave  to  attend  the  dead, 

But  their  dust  is  as  white  as  hers. 

LONGFELLOW. 


io  Cambridge. 


THE  LECHMERE   OR  SEWALL-RIEDESEL  HOUSE. 

This  house  formerly  stood  on  Brattle  Street,  corner  of 
Sparks,  but  is  now  the  third  from  the  corner,  and  has  been 
remodeled  in  recent  years. 

It  was  first  occupied  by  Richard  Lechmere,  former  owner 
of  Lechmere's  Point,  East  Cambridge,  and  afterwards  by 
Jonathan  Sewall,  both  royalists.  The  spot  where  it  formerly 
stood  should  be  visited  for  the  sake  of  the  beautiful  linden 
trees  so  warmly  spoken  of  by  Baroness  Riedesel.  The  house 
was  assigned  for  her  use  and  the  baron's  after  the  surrender 
at  Saratoga,  in  September,  1777,  and  is  often  called  the 
Riedesel  House.  The  lindens  must  have  been  good-sized 
trees  even  then  to  have,  elicited  encomiums  from  the  baron- 
ess at  a  time  when  she  had  so  little  cause  for  enthusiasm, 
her  husband  being  a  prisoner. 


Cambridge. 


ii 


THE   RUGGLES   HOUSE. 

It  is  now  175  Brattle  Street,  and  is  said  to  take  its  name 
from  its  builder,  one  Mr.  Ruggles,  the  last  of  the  king's 
foresters  in  America.  It  descended  to  his  brother,  Captain 
George  Ruggles,  but  passed  into  the  hands  of  Thomas 
Fayerweather  before  the  Revolutionary  War. 

It  then  became  the  property  of  Mr.  William  Wells,  in  the 
possession  of  whose  grandchildren,  the  Newells,  it  now  is. 
Mr.  Wells  had  here  a  private  school  for  boys,  three  of  whom 
at  least  have  since  earned  more  than  a  national  reputation. 
Reference  is  made  to  James  Russell  Lowell,  William  Wet- 
more  Story,  and  Thomas  Wentworth  Higginson. 

The  Ruggles  House  has  a  dignity  and  charm  peculiar  to 
itself  and  is  "beautiful  for  situation." 


12 


Cambridge. 


CHRIST   CHURCH. 

"  We  love  the  venerable  house 

Our  fathers  built  to  God  : 
In  heaven  are  kept  their  grateful  vows ; 
Their  dust  endears  the  sod." 

Christ  Church  (on  Garden  Street,  opposite  the  common) 
was  built  1759-1761,  and  was  opened  for  public  worship 
October  15,  1761,  the  Rev.  East  Apthorp  being  the  first 
minister. 

On  New  Year's  Eve,  1775,  General  Washington  held 
service  here,  Colonel  William  Palfrey  reading  the  service. 
Connecticut  troops  were  quartered  here  about  the  time  of 
the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill.  The  body  of  an  English  officer, 
Lieutenant  Richard  Brown,  killed  on  Prospect  Hill,  Somer- 
ville,  was  placed  beneath  this  church,  where  is  also  the  tomb 
of  the  Vassall  family. 


CHRIST    CHURCH.  13 

The   lead   organ-pipes   were   melted   into  bullets  by  the 
soldiers,  the  church  being  tory  property.     Two  pieces  of  a 
communion  service  —  a  silver  flagon  and  a  covered  cup  — 
given  to  King's  Chapel,   Boston,  are  now  the  property  of 
this  church. 

Our  ancient  church  !  its  lowly  tower, 

Beneath  the  loftier  spire, 
Is  shadowed  when  the  sunset  hour 

Clothes  the  tall  shaft  in  fire ; 
It  sinks  beyond  the  distant  eye 

Long  ere  the  glittering  vane, 
High  wheeling  in  the  western  sky, 

Has  faded  o'er  the  plain. 

OLIVER  WENDELL  HOLMES. 


Cambridge. 


THE   LOWELL  HOUSE. 

This  interesting  old  mansion,  which  is  now  commonly 
known  as  Elmwood,  is  on  Elmwood  Avenue,  near  Mt. 
Auburn. 

It  was  probably  built  about  the  year  1760,  and  seems  to 
have  been  owned  by  John  Stratton,  of  whose  heirs  it  was 
purchased  by  Lieutenant-Governor  Oliver.  It  was  at  one 
time  the  home  of  Governor  Elbridge  Gerry,  one  of  the 
signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  vice- 
president  of  the  United  States  from  1813  to  1814.  After 
the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  it  was  used  as  a  hospital. 

It  finally  became  the  property  of  the  Rev.  Charles  Lowell, 
father  of  James  Russell  Lowell,  who  was  born  here  February 
22,  1819.  Lowell's  study  was  on  the  left  of  the  entrance 
hall,  —  a  large  room  with  its  window  overlooking  "  the  long 
green  levels  among  the  trees  on  the  lawn."  The  room  back 
of  this,  with  shelves  lining  the  walls,  was  used  as  the  poet's 
library. 


Cambridge. 


"THE   BISHOP'S   PALACE." 

It  is  10  Linden  Street,  and  was  built,  about  1761,  by  the 
Rev.  East  Apthorp,  the  first  minister  of  Christ  Church,  and 
received  its  title  in  derision  from  his  persecuting  enemies. 

It  is  one  of  the  finest  of  the  old  houses  of  Cambridge. 
After  Mr.  Apthorp  it  became  the  property  of  a  Mr.  John 
Borland  of  Boston,  who  is  said  to  have  built  the  third  story 
the  better  to  accommodate  his  domestic  slaves.  It  served 
both  as  headquarters  and  barracks  for  General  Putnam  and 
his  Connecticut  troops  till  about  the  time  of  the  battle  of 
Bunker  Hill. 

After  the  surrender  at  Saratoga  it  became  the  residence 
of  Burgoyne. 

It  is  now  (1897)  the  home  of  Professor  William  H.  Niles 
of  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology.  The  house, 
set  in  a  large  garden,  is  grand  in  proportions  and  architect- 
ure, and,  as  has  been  justly  said,  "  is  fitted  in  every  respect 
to  bear  the  name  which  still  clings  to  it." 


1 6  Cambridge. 


THE   HOLMES   HOUSE. 

This  was  a  gambrel-roofed  house  supposed  to  have  been 
built  about  1700.  It  stood  on  Cambridge  Street,  second 
house  from  the  corner  of  Massachusetts  Avenue,  and  was 
torn  down  about  a  dozen  years  ago.  It  was  conveyed  to  one 
Jabez  Fox  in  1707  and  by  his  heirs  to  Jonathan  Hastings 
and  finally  to  Rev.  Abiel  Holmes,  father  of  Oliver  Wendell 
Holmes,  who  was  born  here  August  29,  1809.  It  was  the 
headquarters  of  General  Ward  and,  after  the  battle  of  Lex- 
ington, of  the  Committee  of  Safety  and  for  a  short  time  of 
Washington.  Here  Benedict  Arnold  received  his  commis 
sion  as  colonel,  and  on  the  green  in  front  were  assembled 
the  troops  to  listen  to  prayer,  by  President  Langdon  of  the 
College,  invoking  divine  aid  in  their  behalf,  preparatory  to 
the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill. 

The  poem  "  Old  Ironsides  "  was  written  here. 


Cambridge. 


THE   PRESIDENT'S   HOUSE. 

This  quaint  old  dwelling  on  Massachusetts  Avenue,  Har- 
vard Square,  is  also  known  as  Wadsworth  House,  and  now 
contains  the  office  of  the  bursar  of  the  College.  It  was 
the  home  of  the  presidents  of  the  University  for  a  hundred 
and  twenty-three  years,  1726-1849, —  President  Wadsworth 
being  the  first  occupant ;  the  others  were  Holyoke,  Locke, 
Langdon,  Willard,  Webber,  Kirkland,  Quincy,  and  Everett. 
It  was  intended  as  headquarters  for  Washington.  He  was 
escorted  from  Watertown  the  2d  of  July,  1775,  by  a  com- 
pany of  horse  and  a  large  body  of  mounted  civilians  to  the 
President's  House.  For  some  reason  or  other  he  stayed  but 
two  weeks  and  then  transferred  his  effects  to  the  Vassall 
House,  which  he  seems  to  have  preferred. 

In  this  house  the  royal  governors  were  entertained  on 
occasions  of  anniversary  celebrations,  as  were  many  other 
persons  of  dignity  and  note.  Some  of  the  beautiful  elms 
that  now  cast  their  shadows  upon  the  old  house  are  said  to 
have  been  planted  by  President  Willard. 


i8 


Cambridge. 


THE   WASHINGTON  ELM. 


UNDER  THIS   TREE 

WASHINGTON 
FIRST  TOOK  COMMAND 

OF    THE 

AMERICAN  ARMY 
JULY  36,  1775. 


THE    WASHINGTON    ELM.  19 

A  hint  as  to  the  great  age  of  this  tree  is  given  in  the  fact 
that  Washington  had  a  platform  placed  within  its  branches, 
from  which  he  was  enabled  to  overlook  the  army  encamped 
on  the  common. 

It  is  visited  annually  by  a  large  number  of  persons  from 
all  parts  of  this  country  and  from  abroad,  who  gaze  upon 
its  massive  form  with  mingled  feelings  of  awe  and  admira- 
tion. It  is  now  tenderly  cared  for,  and  though  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  time  have  impressed  upon  it  the  indelible  marks  of 
decay,  it  is  likely  to  last  for  many  years  to  come. 

"  A  goodly  elm  of  noble  girth 
That  thrice  the  human  span  — 
While  on  their  variegated  course 
The  constant  seasons  ran  — 
Through  gale  and  hail  and  fiery  bolt 
Has  stood  erect  as  man." 


20 


Cambridge. 


THE   WATERHOUSE   HOUSE. 

This  well-preserved  and  interesting  old  house,  built  in 
1753,  is  numbered  7  Waterhouse  Street.  It  was  for  many 
years  the  home  of  Dr.  Benjamin  Waterhouse,  who  was  born 
at  Newport,  R.  I.,  in  1754,  studied  in  London,  Edinburgh, 
and  Leyden,  and  was  "  professor  of  the  theory  and  practice 
of  physic  in  the  medical  school  of  Harvard  College  "  for 
thirty  years.  He  introduced  the  art  of  vaccination  into  the 
colonies,  for  which  he  was  much  persecuted. 

The  house  contains  many  historic  curios,  among  which 
may  be  mentioned  a  "  six-month "  clock,  the  gift  of  the 
stamp  officer,  Peter  Oliver,  whose  granddaughter,  Elizabeth, 
was  the  doctor's  first  wife  ;  also  two  portraits,  —  one  of  the 
doctor,  by  Frothingham,  and  the  other  of  his  mother  at  the 
age  of  ninety,  by  Washington  Allston,  at  the  time  a  student 
in  Harvard  College  and  an  occupant  of  a  room  in  the  house. 

The  present  occupant  of  the  house  is  Miss  Mary  H.  Ware, 
daughter  of  the  Rev.  William  Ware. 


Cambridge. 


MASSACHUSETTS   HALL. 

Massachusetts  Hall  (west  side  of  the  college  yard,  south 
of  the  Johnston  gateway)  is  the  oldest  of  the  college  build- 
ings proper  now  standing,  and  was  erected  in  1720,  during 
the  presidency  of  John  Leverett. 

Holden  Chapel  is  frequently,  but  erroneously,  given  the 
honor  of  being  the  oldest,  but  it  was  erected  in  1745, 
Edward  Holyoke  being  president.  Massachusetts  Hall  has 
been  the  college  home  of  not  a  few  who  afterwards  became 
famous.  Among  these  there  is  one  at  least  whose  memory 
it  is  a  delight  to  cherish  and  revere, —  Judge  Joseph  Story, 
first  Dane  Professor  of  law  at  Harvard,  who  was  at  the 
same  time  Associate  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States. 


22 


Cambridge. 


THE   HICKS  HOUSE. 

The  Hicks  House,  which  is  now  standing  on  Dunster 
Street,  corner  of  Winthrop,  was  built  by  John  Hicks,  who 
was  killed  on  the  day  of  the  battle  of  Lexington,  and  whose 
name  is  on  the  monument  in  the  burying-ground  adjoining 
Christ  Church. 

The  spot  where  he  fell  is  marked  with  a  tablet  on  Massa- 
chusetts Avenue,  near  Spruce  Street : 


AT  THIS   PLACE 

APRIL  19,  1775 

FOUR    CITIZENS  WERE  KILLED 

BY    BRITISH    SOLDIERS 
RETREATING  FROM  LEXINGTON. 


Cambridge.  23 


THE   MARGARET   FULLER   HOUSE. 

The  house  in  which  Margaret  Fuller  was  born,  May  23, 
1810,  is  still  standing  on  the  corner  of  Cherry  and  Eaton 
Streets,  Cambridgeport,  and  is  visited  annually  by  many 
persons.  America  thus  far,  probably,  has  not  produced  a 
woman  intellectually  her  superior.  She  was  noted  as  a 
teacher,  as  an  editor,  and  as  a  writer  and  literary  critic. 
In  1847  sne  became  the  wife  of  the  Marquis  d'Ossoli  of 
Italy.  The  vessel  on  which  she  was  returning  to  her  native 
land  with  her  husband  and  young  son  was  wrecked  within 
sight  of  it,  she  being  among  the  number  lost.  Emerson 
and  Hawthorne  were  her  warm  friends,  and  she  visited  the 
latter  when  he  was  living  in  the  community  at  Brook  Farm, 
Roxbury. 

The  number  of  the  house  is  69  Cherry  Street. 


24  Cambridge. 


THE   HOME   OF   WASHINGTON   ALLSTON. 

The  house  in  which  Washington  Allston,  the  celebrated 
painter,  lived,  while  a  resident  of  Cambridge,  is  not  now 
standing,  but  was  formerly  on  Magazine  Street,  corner  of 
Auburn,  his  studio  being  nearly  opposite.  He  was  born  in 
South  Carolina,  November  5,  1779,  anc^  showed  a  love  for 
art  at  an  early  age.  He  entered  Harvard  in  1796,  and 
went  to  Europe  in  1801.  In  Rome  he  studied  four  years, 
acquiring  the  name  of  "the  American  Titian."  He  is  also 
known  as  America's  greatest  historical  painter,  many  of  his 
most  costly  works  being  now  possessed  by  wealthy  Boston 
families.  He  was  twice  married,  his  second  wife  being  a 
daughter  of  Chief  Justice  Francis  Dana  of  Dana  Hill,  Cam- 
bridge. He  died  in  Cambridge  on  July  9,  1843. 


Cambridge.  '  25 


TABLETS. 

Since  the  next  best  thing  to  knowing  the  history  of  a 
place  is  the  knowledge  of  its  location,  historic  spots  of  inter- 
est, which  are  now  marked  by  tablets,  will  be  designated. 


HERE  STOOD 

THE  FIRST  SCHOOLHOUSE 

OF  CAMBRIDGE 

BUILT    IN    1648. 


The  tablet  with  the  above  inscription  is  on  the  west  side 
of  Holyoke  Street,  opposite  the  home  of  the  Hasty  Pudding 
Club. 

In  the  stone  building  here  erected  a  school  was  kept  till 
1769,  when  it  was  removed  to  the  southerly  side  of  Garden 
Street,  a  short  distance  north  of  Appian  Way,  and  there  con- 
tinued until  about  1838. 

This  was  the  school  (now  the  Washington)  spoken  of  by 
Johnson,  in  1643,  in  his  "Wonder  Working  Providence,"  as 
"  a  faire  Grammar  Schoole." 


26 


Cambridge. 


SITE  OF  THE 

FIRST  MEETING  HOUSE  IN  CAMBRIDGE. 
ERECTED  A.D.    1632. 


These  words  are  on  the  granite  foundation  of  a  building 
on  Mt.  Auburn  Street,  corner  of  Dunster. 

"  This  meeting-house  was  a  plain  and  simple  structure, 
probably  built  of  logs,  and  had  a  thatched  roof.  The  con- 
gregation at  first  were  called  together  by  the  beating  of  a 
drum.  Here  preached  the  gifted  Hooker  for  two  years,  who 
was  styled  '  the  light  of  the  western  churches,'  and  the  pious 
Thomas  Shepard  for  thirteen  years." 

In  1642  the  first  Harvard  College  commencement  exer- 
cises were  held  in  this  church. 


Cambridge.  27 


THE  HOUSE   OF  JOHN  WATSON. 

On  the  west  side  of  Massachusetts  Avenue,  near  Spruce 
Street,  a  tablet  is  placed,  marking  the  spot  where  three  citi- 
zens of  Cambridge  were  killed,  April  19,  1775  :  viz.,  John 
Hicks,  William  Marcy,  and  Moses  Richardson,  the  last 
named  being  the  great-grandfather  of  Captain  James  P. 
Richardson.  The  company  commanded  by  the  latter  was 
probably  the  first  company  of  soldiers  to  start  for  the  de- 
fence of  Washington  at  the  beginning  of  the  Great  Rebellion 
in  1 86 1.  The  house  west  of  the  tablet  was  a  witness  of  the 
tragedies,  and  was  the  home  of  John  Watson,  a  farmer. 


28  Cambridge. 


HERE  LIVED 

STEPHEN  DAYE, 

FIRST  PRINTER  IN 

BRITISH  AMERICA. 

1638-1668. 


The  tablet  inscribed  as  above  is  on  the  easterly  side  of  a 
building  numbered  1732  at  Harvard  Square. 

Stephen  Daye  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Matthew,  and 
he,  in  1649,  by  Samuel  Green;  "and  for  forty  years  all  the 
printing  done  in  America  was  at  Cambridge."  "  About  one 
hundred  works  bear  the  Cambridge  imprint  prior  to  the 
year  1700,  the  chief  of  which  is  the  Bible  translated  into 
the  Indian  language,  by  John  Eliot,  a  copy  of  which  is  now 
in  the  library  at  Harvard  College." 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  printing  is  still  one  of  the  lead- 
ing industries  of  Cambridge. 


Cambridge. 


29 


THOMAS  DUDLEY, 
FOUNDER  OF  CAMBRIDGE, 
GOVERNOR  OF  MASSACHUSETTS, 
<2  LIVED  HERE  IN   1630. 


This  tablet  is  on  Dunster  Street,  corner  of  South. 

Thomas  Dudley  was  governor  four  years,  deputy  governor 
for  thirteen,  and  assistant  governor  for  eight  years,  and  was 
major-general  of  all  the  forces  in  1644.  He  died  in  Rox- 
bury,  in  1653,  at  the  age  of  seventy-six  years. 


30  Cambridge. 


IN  1775 

GENERAL  PUTNAM 
HAD  HIS  HEADQUARTERS 

IN  THE  HOUSE 
WHICH  STOOD  HERE. 


The  house  stood  on  Inman  Street,  near  the  City  Hall, 
and  was  that  of  Ralph  Inman,  a  Tory,  who  was  arrested  in 
1776. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  fact  that  his  daughter  became 
the  wife  of  Captain  John  Linzee,  who  was  in  command  of 
the  British  man-of-war,  "  Falcon,"  stationed  in  the  Charles 
River  at  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  and  that 
their  granddaughter  became  the  wife  of  the  historian,  Pres- 
cott,  grandson  of  Colonel  William  Prescott,  who  commanded 
the  Americans  at  the  same  battle. 

"The  crossed  swords,"  —  those  of  Colonel  Prescott  and 
Captain  Linzee,  —  worn  during  the  battle,  is  an  object  of 
interest  to  be  seen  at  the  rooms  of  the  Massachusetts  His- 
torical Society,  Boston. 


Cambridge. 


ON  THIS  SPOT 

IN     1630 

STOOD  AN  ANCIENT  OAK 

UNDER  WHICH  WERE  HELD 

COLONIAL  ELECTIONS. 

THIS  SCION  OF  THE 

WASHINGTON  ELM 

WAS  PLANTED 

MAY,  1896. 


The  tablet  is  on  the  common,  the  Massachusetts  Avenue 
side,  nearly  opposite  the  head  of  Cambridge  Street. 

From  Colonel  T.  W.  Higginson  we  learn  that  there  took 
place  under  this  oak  tree  a  very  exciting  election  contest, 
in  1637,  between  the  friends  of  the  governor,  Sir  Henry 
Vane,  whose  statue  may  now  be  seen  in  the  Boston  Public 
Library,  and  those  of  John  Winthrop,  the  latter  being  victo- 
rious largely  in  consequence  of  an  earnest  speech  of  Rev. 
John  Wilson,  first  minister  of  Boston,  who  stood  among  the 
branches  of  the  old  oak  during  the  delivery  of  this  speech. 


32  Cambridge. 

On  the  left  bank  of  Charles  River,  near  the  Cambridge 
Hospital,  Mount  Auburn  Street,  is  a  tablet  inclosed  by  an 
iron  fence  and  bearing  the  following  inscription  : 


ON  THIS  SPOT 
IN  THE  YEAR  IOOO 

LEIF  ERICKSON 
BUILT  HIS  HOUSE  IN 

VlNELAND. 


This  tablet  was  placed  here  by  Professor  Eben  Norton 
Horsford,  whose  patient  and  exhaustive  researches  led  him 
to  believe  the  territory  in  this  vicinity  to  be  identical  with 
the  Vineland  of  the  Northmen. 

Farther  west  are  two  other  spots  with  rude  inclosures,  one 
the  supposed  site  of  another  Northman's  house  and  the 
other  a  paved  pathway  leading  from  the  river  to  one  of  the 
houses.  It  is  said  to  be  the  custom  of  the  people  of  Iceland 
and  Greenland  to-day  to  construct  such  pathways. 

Professor  Horsford  was  born  in  Moscow,  New  York,  in 
1818,  and  died  January  i,  1893.  He  was  Rumford  profes- 
sor at  Harvard  from  1847  to  1863.  His  name  is  a  house- 
hold word  throughout  the  land  in  consequence  of  his  useful 
chemical  discoveries  and  for  his  broad  charities  and  educa- 
tional endowments.  There  came  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
author  recently  an  incident  in  the  life  of  the  great  professor 
that  deserves  to  be  much  emphasized  and  frequently  imi- 
tated. On  being  presented  with  his  tax  bill  on  one  occa- 
sion, he  promptly  informed  the  assessors  that  it  was  too  small, 
and  that  he  desired  to  bear  his  full  share  of  the  burden  of 
taxation. 


Cambridge. 


33 


SITE  OF 
FORT  PUTNAM 
®    ERECTED  BY  THE  AMERICAN  FORCES 

DEC.  1775 
DURING  THE  SIEGE  OF  BOSTON. 


The  site  is  to  be  found  on  the  corner  of  Otis  and  Fourth 
Streets,  East  Cambridge.  The  fort  was  a  strong  one,  and 
was  constructed  during  a  bombardment  by  a  British  man-of- 
war  only  a  half-mile  distant.  A  cannon-ball  fired  from  this 
fort  struck  the  side  of  the  Brattle  Street  Church,  Boston,  at 
some  time  during  the  siege,  and  can  now  be  seen  at  the 
rooms  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  Boston. 


34  Cambridge. 


Our  good  city  is  not  without  articles  of  historic  and  liter- 
ary interest,  as  may  be  seen  by  a  visit  to  the  Cambridge 
Public  Library,  situated  on  Broadway,  between  Irving  and 
Trowbridge  Streets. 

Among  the  objects  worthy  of  special  mention  are : 

The  manuscript  of  The  Progress  of  the  World,  by  J.  R. 
Lowell;  Margaret  Fuller's  European  Note  Book;  manu- 
script letters  of  Longfellow,  Lowell,  Everett,  R.  H.  Dana, 
and  Margaret  Fuller — all  of  Cambridge,  —  of  Washington, 
Jefferson,  and  Santa  Anna;  a  silk  flag  sent  to  the  38th 
Massachusetts  Regiment  by  Cambridge  ladies ;  a  copy  of  the 
New  England  Chronicle  of  December  14-21,  1775,  which 
was  printed  in  Stoughton  Hall,  Harvard  College.  There 
are  also  Indian  stone  implements  from  Longfellow  Park ;  a 
Cambridge  tax  bill  of  1790;  a  cane  from  the  wood  of  the 
"  Spreading  Chestnut  Tree,"  gift  of  Dr.  Lucius  R.  Paige ; 
shoes  worn  by  the  wife  of  General  Washington ;  and  a  silk 
badge  worn  at  Washington's  inauguration.  These  and  many 
more  articles  of  historic  value  and  interest  may  be  seen  by 
teachers  and  their  pupils  by  making  proper  previous  arrange- 
ments with  the  librarian. 


Arlington.  35 


To  one  familiar  with  the  picturesque  topography  of  Arling- 
ton (why  could  it  not  have  retained  its  Indian  name  of 
Menotomy  ?)  there  can  be  no  surprise  at  the  evident  con- 
tentment of  the  people  with  their  situation.  The  "Heights" 
are  visited  at  almost  all  seasons  of  the  year  for  a  view 
almost  unsurpassed  in  its  extent  and  loveliness.  Somehow, 
we  cannot  hear  the  name  without  having  visions  of  pure  air 
and  sparkling  spring  water.  Even  the  robin  becomes  so 
enamored  of  the  sheltered  nooks  and  secluded  valleys  that 
he  is  fast  forgetting  his  migratory  habits,  and  actually  spends 
whole  winters  here. 

Best  of  all,  the  people  are  living  up  to  the  patriotic  tradi- 
tions of  their  earlier  history,  an  evidence  of  which  is  to  be 
seen  in  the  substantial  monuments  to  the  memory  of  the 
heroes  of  the  first  as  well  as  of  the  last  war. 

Arlington  has  now  in  good  state  of  preservation  a  con- 
siderable number  of  houses  of  the  Colonial  period. 

A  modest  but  interesting  one  is 


THE   AMOS   WHITTEMORE   HOUSE. 

It  is  now  numbered  209  Massachusetts  Avenue,  near  the 
Soldiers'  Monument. 

Mr.  Whittemore  was,  for  the  time,  a  famous  inventor,  a 
machine  for  making  wool-cards  being  his  greatest  achieve- 
ment. On  this  he  obtained  a  patent.  Proposals  for  its 
renewal  came  in  the  time  of  John  Randolph,  who  said, 
"  Renew  it  forever,  for  it  is  the  only  machine  with  a  soul." 
Till  recent  repairs  were  made,  the  old  house  bore  the  marks 
of  British  bullets. 


36  Arlington. 


THE   MOLLY   CUTTER   HOUSE. 

For  some  unknown  reason  the  British  manifested  particu- 
lar disfavor  toward  this  house,  as  they  plundered  it  of  a 
year's  supply  of  candles  and  built  a  fire  in  one  of  its  closets. 
It  is  now  numbered  333  Massachusetts  Avenue,  and  is  next 
to  the  Universalist  Church. 


At  312  Massachusetts  Avenue  is  an  old  house  that  claims 
to  have  been  built  prior  to  1776.  The  bakery  business 
seems  to  have  been  carried  on  here  from  the  first. 


THE   SAMUEL  RUSSELL  HOUSE. 

This  quaint  house  was  built  by  the  grandfather  of  an  old 
lady  now  living  in  it  at  the  age  of  eighty-nine  years. 

It  is  numbered  432  Massachusetts  Avenue,  corner  of 
Walnut  Street.  It  is  supposed  to  be  more  than  two  hundred 
years  old. 


Arlington, 


37 


THE   ABEL  LOCKE  HOUSE. 


This  is  a  fair  type  of  the  old  houses  of  Arlington.  It  is 
on  Massachusetts  Avenue,  corner  of  Forest  Street,  and  bears 
up  bravely  under  its  weight  of  two  hundred  years. 

Its  next-door  neighbor  toward  Lexington  is  the 


WILLIAM   LOCKE   HOUSE. 

Judging  from  its  outward  appearance,  it  must  have  been 
built  at  or  before  the  time  of  the  Abel  Locke  House. 


38  Arlington. 


THE  CAPTAIN  BENJAMIN  LOCKE  HOUSE. 

Diagonally  opposite  the  head  of  Forest  Street,  the  "  Old 
Lexington  Road,"  now  Appleton  Street,  leaves  Massachu- 
setts Avenue,  passing  over  the  hill  to  the  west,  but  joins 
it  again  at  no  great  distance.  The  second  house,  No.  7 
Appleton  Street,  bears  upon  its  chimney  the  date  1775.  It 
is  the  Benjamin  Locke  House,  which  was  built  in  1726.  In 
1775  it  was  used  as  a  Baptist  meeting-house,  having  been 
bought  for  the  purpose  for  the  sum  of  one  hundred  dollars. 
It  came  into  the  possession  of  the  Lockes  later,  and  is  now 
owned  by  them. 

Farther  on  over  the  hill  there  stood  till  within  a  year 
another  old  Locke  house.  In  fact,  there  were  standing  in 
this  vicinity,  and  all  at  one  time,  no  less  than  five  old  houses 
bearing  the  name  of  Locke,  as  I  learn  from  a  descendant, 
and  all  of  whose  occupants  were  more  or  less  intimately 
connected  with  the  stirring  events  of  April  19,  1775. 


Arlington.  39 


NEAR  THIS  SPOT 

SAMUEL  WHITTEMORE 

THEN  80  YEARS  OLD 

KILLED  THREE  BRITISH  SOLDIERS 

APRIL  19,  1775. 

HE  WAS  SHOT,  BAYONETED, 

BEATEN  AND  LEFT  FOR  DEAD, 

BUT  RECOVERED  AND  LIVED 

TO  BE  98  YEARS  OF  AGE. 


The  granite  slab  bearing  the  above  inscription  is  on 
Mystic  Street,  in  the  rear  of  the  Russell  Schoolhouse. 

If  all  the  Revolutionary  soldiers  were  of  the  same  degree 
of  toughness  or  equally  tenacious  of  life,  it  is  little  wonder 
the  British  could  not  conquer  them. 


Arlington. 


THE  SITE  OF  THE 
BLACK  HORSE  TAVERN 
COMMITTEE  OF  SAFETY 

IN  1775- 


On  the  east  side  of  Massachusetts  Avenue,  nearly 
opposite  Linwood  Street,  stands  a  tablet  with  the  above 
inscription. 


HERE  STOOD  COOPER'S  TAVERN 

IN  WHICH 
JABEZ  WYMAN 

AND 

JASON  WINSHIP 

WERE  KILLED  BY  THE  BRITISH 

APRIL  19,  1775. 


A  tablet  with  the  above  inscription  is  on  Massachusetts 
Avenue,  corner  of  Medford  Street. 


Arlington. 


AT  THIS  SPOT 

ON  APRIL  19,  1775 

THE  OLD  MEN  OF  MENOTOMY 

CAPTURED  A  CONVOY  OF 
EIGHTEEN  SOLDIERS  WITH  SUPPLIES 

ON  ITS  WAY  TO  JOIN 
THE  BRITISH  AT  LEXINGTON. 


In  front  of  the  Unitarian  Meeting-house  on  Massachusetts 
Avenue,  near  the  center  of  the  town,  is  to  be  seen  a  tablet 
with  an  inscription  as  above. 


SITE  OF  THE  HOME  OF 

JASON  RUSSELL 
WHERE  HE  AND  ELEVEN  OTHERS 

WERE  CAPTURED, 

DISARMED  AND  KILLED 

HY  THE  RETREATING  BRITISH 

ON  APRIL  19,  1775. 


On   Massachusetts  Avenue,  near  Jason   Street,  stands  a 
stone  tablet  with  the  inscription  as  given  above. 


Lexington. 


Lexington,  like  its  sister,  Concord,  is  so  quiet  and  peace- 
ful as  to  give  to  a  stranger  visiting  the  beautiful  "  Village 
Green  "  the  impression  that  its  gallantry  on  that  memorable 
i gth  of  April,  1775,  had  given  it  henceforth  a  right  to  ever- 
lasting tranquillity.  We  have  heard  and  read  of  hallowed 
ground !  Here  we  see  it  and  stand  upon  it,  and  feel  like  un- 
covering our  heads  as  before  some  awe-inspiring  presence. 

Objects  of  historic  interest  are  met  on  every  hand.  At 
the  south  end  of  the  Common  is  a  monument  marking  the 
site  of  three  successive  churches,  the  first  built  in  1714. 
Nearly  opposite,  on  the  Bedford  road,  stands  the  Buckman 
Tavern,  from  whose  sides  English  bullets  have  been  taken. 
Opposite,  on  the  Concord  road,  is  the  house  of  Marrett  and 
Nathan  Monroe,  built  in  1729,  and  hence  a  witness  of  the 
battle.  On  the  street  north  of  the  Green  still  stands  the 
house  of  Jonathan  Harrington  with  the  following  tablet : 


HOUSE  OF 

JONATHAN   HARRINGTON 
WHO,  WOUNDED  ON  THE  COMMON 

APRIL  19,  1775, 

DRAGGED  HIMSELF  TO  THE  DOOR 
AND  DIED  AT  HIS  WIFE'S  FEET. 


Lexington.  43 


Every  visitor  notes  the  granite  obelisk  that  marks  the 
resting-place  of  the  men  of  Lexington  (and  one  from 
Woburn)  who  fell  in  the  battle  on  the  Common.  It  is  on  a 
rise  of  ground  on  the  northwestern  side  of  the  battlefield. 

No  British  thirst  of  blood  had  they, 
No  battle  joy  was  theirs,  who  set 
Against  the  alien  bayonet 
Their  homespun  breasts  in  that  old  day. 

They  went  where  duty  seemed  to  call ; 
They  scarcely  asked  the  reason  why ; 
They  only  knew  they  could  but  die, 
And  death  was  not  the  worst  of  all ! 

WHITTIER. 


44 


Lexington. 


STAND  YOUR  GROUND 

DONT  TIRE  UNLESS  FIRED  UPON 

BUT  IF  THEY   MEAN  TO    HAVE  A  WAR 


LET  IT   BEGIN/    HCRi 


THE   OLD   BOWLDER. 

The  inscription  above  embodies  the  words  of  Captain 
John  Parker,  as  is  affirmed  to  be  probable  by  the  Rev. 
Theodore  Parker,  his  grandson. 

"  This  bowlder,  it  is  estimated,  weighs  from  twelve  to 
fifteen  tons,  and  was  drawn  to  the  spot  from  a  distance  of 
two  miles  by  a  team  of  ten  horses.  It  fitly  symbolizes  the 
firm,  unyielding  spirit  of  the  men  whose  deed  it  commemo- 
rates," say  the  Lexington  Historical  Society  in  their  inter- 
esting Handbook  to  Lexington. 


Lexington.  45 


HOME  OF  JONATHAN  HARRINGTON 
THE  LAST  SURVIVOR  OF  THE  BATTLE 

OF  LEXINGTON;  BORN  JULY  8,  1756; 

» 

^  DIED  MARCH  27,  1854. 

(y) 


The  house  marked  by  the  above  tablet  is  on  Massachu- 
setts Avenue,  east  side,  about  a  mile  from  the  Common  in 
Lexington.  "  Young  Harrington  was  the  fifer  boy  of  Cap- 
tain Parker's  company ;  only  sixteen  at  the  time  of  the 
battle." 

On  Massachusetts  Avenue,  corner  of  Pleasant  Street,  is  a 
monument  with  the  following  inscription  : 


NEAR  THIS  SPOT 

AT  THE  EARLY   DAWN  OF   APRIL   ICj,    1775,  y> 

BENJAMIN    WELLINGTON,   A    MINUTE-MAN, 

Y- 
WAS  SURPRISED  BY  BRITISH  SCOUTS  AND  DISARMED.          V> 

WITH  UNDAUNTED  COURAGE  HE  BORROWED  A  GUN  AND      | 
<<  JOINED  HIS  COUNTRYMEN  AT  LEXINGTON  GREEN.  t 

A    HE  WAS  THE  FIRST  ARMED  MAN  TAKEN  IN  THE  REVOLUTION.    £' 

I  I 

/  HE  FOUGHT  AT  SARATOGA  AND   Vi  HITE  PLAINS. 

i 


46 


Lexington. 


Toward  the  Common,  and  not  far  from  the  Munroe  Tav- 
ern, is  a  tablet  with  the  following  inscription : 


ON  THE  HILL  TO  THE  SOUTH 

WAS  PLANTED 
ONE  OF  THE  BRITISH  FIELD-PIECES 

APRIL  19,  1775, 
TO  COMMAND  THE  VILLAGE 

AND  ITS  APPROACHES, 
AND  NEAR  THIS  PLACE 


SEVERAL  BUILDINGS  WERE  BURNED. 


One  of  the  noticeable  monuments  of  Lexington  is  about 
half  a  mile  south  of  the  Common,  on  Massachusetts  Avenue. 
It  represents  a  mounted  field-piece  cut  in  granite,  and  marks 
the  spot  where  Earl  Percy  planted  one  to  cover  the  retreat 
of  the  British  troops. 


Lexington. 


47 


MUNROE    TAVERN. 

This  is  a  fair  type  of  the  Colonial  houses  of  Lexington. 
The  inscription  on  the  tablet  borne  on  its  front  is  : 


>&>2z^^ 

EARL  PERCY'S  HEADQUARTERS        %; 
AND  HOSPITAL,  APRIL  19,  1775. 

THE  MUNROE  TAVERN 
<&  BUILT  IN   1695. 


South  of  this  house  and  its  next-door  neighbor  is  the 
old  Sanderson  House.  It  received  rough  treatment  at  the 
hands  of  the  retreating  British,  who  added  insult  to  injury 
by  leaving  one  of  their  wounded  to  be  cared  for  by  the 
family  on  their  return,  they  having  fled  at  the  approach  of 
the  enemy. 


48  Lexington. 


HANCOCK-CLARK  HOUSE. 

This  house  is  on  Hancock  Street,  about  a  third  of  a  mile 
from  the  Common.  The  "L"  part  was  built  in  1698  or 
1699,  by  the  Rev.  John  Hancock,  the  second  minister,  and 
grandfather  of  John  Hancock,  governor  of  Massachusetts 
1780-85  and  1787-93,  Governor  Hancock  being  the  first 
signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  The  Rev.  Jonas 
Clark,  the  fourth  minister,  afterward  owned  the  house,  and 
here  his  thirteen  children  were  born,  all  living  to  become 
men  and  women.  The  ministries  of  the  Rev.  John  Hancock 
and  the  Rev.  Jonas  Clark  in  Lexington  covered  a  period  of 
one  hundred  and  five  years. 

John  Hancock  and  Samuel  Adams  were  sleeping  here  on 
the  night  of  the  i8th  of  April,  1775,  when  awakened  by 
Paul  Revere.  It  is  a  shame  that  this  house  was  removed, 
but  a  matter  of  thankfulness  that  it  is  preserved.  In  the 
autumn  of  1896  it  was  moved  across  the  street,  and  now 
stands  on  the  northeast  side  of  Hancock  Street. 


Lexington. 


On  Hancock  Street,  not  far  from  the  corner  of  Adams,  is 
the  Fiske  House,  which  was  at  the  time  of  the  battle  the 
home  of  Dr.  Joseph  Fiske,  who  became  a  surgeon  in  the 
Revolutionary  army. 

Farther  on,  toward  Bedford,  is  the  Lawrence  House,  a 
Colonial  house,  at  one  time  occupied  by  the  ancestors  of 
the  noted  merchants,  Amos  and  Abbott  Lawrence. 

All  visitors  to  Lexington  should  find  time  to  visit  the 
Memorial  Hall  and  Gary  Library,  as  it  contains  objects  of 
great  historic  interest  and  value.  Chief  among  these,  if  we 
except  the  library  of  13,000  volumes,  is  a  painting  of  the 
battle  of  Lexington,  by  Sandham,  which  cost  $4000. 


5° 


Lexington. 


Beyond  the  Common,  on  the  Concord  road,  and  about  a 
mile  out,  is  a  tablet  with  the  following  inscription : 


AT  THIS  WELL 

APRIL   19,   1775, 

JAMES  HAYWARD  OF  ACTON 

MET  A  BRITISH  SOLDIER 
WHO,  RAISING  HIS  GUN,  SAID: 

"  YOU  ARE  A  DEAD  MAN." 

"AND  SO  ARE  YOU,"  REPLIED  HAYWARD. 

BOTH  FIRED,  THE  SOLDIER 

WAS  INSTANTLY  KILLED, 
AND  HAYWARD  MORTALLY  WOUNDED. 


Lexington. 


On  the  retreat  of  the  British  from  Concord,  being  hard 
pressed  by  the  Americans,  they  made  a  stand  on  a  hill  "  a 
mile  and  a  half  west  of  the  Common."  Here  is  a  granite 
slab  with  the  following  inscription  at  the  foot  of  the  hill : 


THIS  BLUFF 

WAS  USED  AS  A  RALLYING  POINT 

BY   THE   BRITISH 

APRIL  19,  1775. 

AFTER  A  SHARP  FIGHT 

THEY    RETREATED    TO    FlSKE    HlLL 
FROM  WHICH  THEY  WERE  DRIVEN 
IN    GREAT    CONFUSION. 


52  Concord. 


This  town  is  well  worth  visiting  and  knowing  from  its 
quiet  natural  beauties  alone ;  but  it  becomes  doubly  inter- 
esting because  it  has  been  hallowed  by  historical  events  and 
literary  associations,  —  because  it  was  the  dearly  beloved 
home  of  the  immortals,  Emerson,  Hawthorne,  Thoreau,  and 
the  Alcotts. 

The  visitor  seeking  for  historic  sites  and  incidents  natu- 
rally seeks  first  the 


BATTLE  GROUND. 

It  is  on  Monument  Street,  and  not  far  from  the  Old 
Manse.  The  ground  on  which  the  British  fought  has  a 
monument  with  the  following  inscription  : 


HERE 
WAS  MADE  THE  FIRST  FORCIBLE  RESISTANCE  TO 

BRITISH  AGGRESSION. 
ON  THE  OPPOSITE  BANK  STOOD  THE  AMERICAN  MILITIA. 

HERE  STOOD  THE  INVADING  ARMY. 
AND  ON  THIS  SPOT  THE  FIRST  OF  THE  ENEMY  FELL 

IN  THE  WAR  OF  THE  REVOLUTION, 

WHICH   GAVE   INDEPENDENCE  TO  THESE   UNITED    STATES. 

IN  GRATITUDE  TO  GOD,  AND  IN  THE  LOVE  OF  FREEDOM, 

THIS  MONUMENT  WAS  ERECTED, 

A.D.    1836. 


Concord.  53 


THE    BATTLE    GROUND. 

By  the  rude  bridge  that  arched  the  flood, 
Their  flag  to  April's  breeze  unfurled, 

Here  once  the  embattled  farmers  stood 
And  fired  the  shot  heard  round  the  world. 


On  this  green  bank,  by  this  soft  stream, 

We  set  to-day  a  votive  stone 
That  memory  may  the  deed  redeem 

When,  like  our  sires,  our  sons  are  gone. 

EMERSON. 


54 


Concord. 


THE   MINUTE-MAN. 

This  monument,  full  of  spirit  and  earnestness,  was  de- 
signed by  the  famous  sculptor  of  Concord,  Mr.  D.  C.  French. 
It  stands  on  the  side  of  the  river,  opposite  to  the  spot  on 
which  the  British  fought,  and  marks  the  ground  held  by  the 
Americans  during  the  battle  or  a  portion  of  it. 

On  the  opposite  side  from  the  minute-man  a  stone  in  the 
wall  marks  the  "  Grave  of  British  Soldiers." 


Concord. 


55 


THE  BRITISH  TROOPS 
RETREATING    FROM   THE 

OLD  NORTH  BRIDGE 

WERE  HERE  ATTACKED  IN  FLANK 

BY  THE  MEN  OF  CONCORD 

AND  NEIGHBORING  TOWNS 

AND  DRIVEN  UNDER  A  HOT  FIRE 

TO  CHARLESTOWN. 


This  tablet  stands  at  Merriam's  Corner,  past  which  the 
British  were  retreating  on  the  road  to  Lexington. 


Concord. 


THE  OLD   MANSE. 

This  house  stands  near  the  battleground,  and  the  name, 
"  Old  Manse,"  the  Scotch  name  for  a  country  parsonage,  is 
well  applied,  as  it  was  built  for  the  Rev.  William  Emerson, 
grandfather  of  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson,  in  1765,  and  during 
most  of  its  existence  has  been  the  home  of  ministers. 

Mosses  from  an  Old  Manse  inseparably  connects  Haw- 
thorne's name  with  it,  as  he  was  at  one  time  a  resident  of 
this  house.  It  was  a  witness  of  the  battle,  and  from  one  of 
its  windows  the  widow  of  the  Rev.  William  Emerson  was  a 
deeply  interested  observer  of  the  same  stirring  event.  All 
visitors  to  Concord  should  visit  the  Wayside,  the  real  home 
of  Hawthorne ;  the  home  of  the  Alcotts  and  the  School 
of  Philosophy,  —  all  on  the  Lexington  road,  not  far  from 
Merriam's  Corner;  the  Concord  Antiquarian  Society;  the 
Public  Library ;  and  the  different  cemeteries,  especially 


THE     OLD     MANSE. 


57 


Sleepy  Hollow,  and,  time  permitting,  Walden  Pond,  the 
scene  of  the  hermit  life  of  a  veritable  child  of  Nature, 
Henry  D.  Thoreau. 

In  Sleepy  Hollow  the  grave  of  Hawthorne  is  on  the  hill 
by  Ridge  Path;  the  grave  of  Thoreau  is  just  behind;  and 
a  little  farther  on  is  the  grave  of  R.  W.  Emerson,  on  the 
opposite  side  of  Ridge  Path.  A  great  pine  stands  at  the 
head  of  the  grave,  and  a  huge  unhewn  block  of  pink  granite 
is  his  monument. 


Concord. 


THE  HOME  OF  EMERSON. 

Probably  no  house  in  Concord,  whether  Colonial  or  more 
recent,  is  so  eagerly  sought  out  by  visitors  to  this  historic 
old  town  as  is  the  simple  house  of  the  "  Sage  of  Concord." 
Emerson  lived  here  from  1835  till  the  time  of  his  death, 
April  27,  1882.  It  may  be  of  interest  to  the  reader  to  be 
reminded  that  his  death  occurred  only  about  one  month 
after  he  had  attended  the  funeral  of  his  friend,  Longfellow, 
who  died  March  24,  1882. 

This  house  stands  on  the  old  road  to  Lexington,  about 
equally  distant  from  Merriam's  Corner  and  the  center  of 
the  town. 


Bedford.  59 


This  town  was  incorporated  under  its  present  name  in 
1729,  and  is  composed  of  territory  formerly  belonging  to 
Concord,  Billerica,  and  Cambridge. 

As  the  visitor  approaches  the  village  of  Bedford  from  the 
east  on  the  main  road,  he  sees  on  the  right,  and  near  the 
Common, 


THE  FIRST  PARSONAGE, 

or  "  Dominie  Manse."  It  was  built  in  1729  by  the  Rev. 
Nicholas  Bowes,  whose  wife,  Lucy,  was  a  daughter  of  the 
Rev.  John  Hancock,  of  Lexington. 

Passing  along  the  same  road,  past  the  Common,  toward 
Concord,  a  second  parsonage  is  reached,  directly  opposite  a 
meeting-house,  and  known  as 


THE   STEARNS  HOUSE. 

It  has  been  the  home  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Stearns  (for 
forty  years  a  minister  here)  and  his  descendants  since  1796. 
It  has  just  passed  out  of  the  family.  It  is  worthy  of  men- 
tion that  four  descendants  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Stearns  were 
ministers,  the  Rev.  William  A.  Stearns  being  at  one  time 
president  of  Amherst  College. 

The  next  house  north  and  on  the  same  side  of  the  road  is 
also  Colonial,  built  in  1756,  and  known  as 


THE   JEREMIAH  FITCH  HOUSE. 

Mr.  Fitch  was  known  as  the  "  merchant." 

Having  seen  the  homes  of  the  minister  and  the  merchant, 
we  are  interested  to  find,  on  the  same  side  of  the  road  and 
next-door  neighbor, 


60  Bedford. 

THE  HOUSE  OF  THE   SQUIRE, 

one  Mr.  Stearns,  a  cousin  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Stearns.  No 
finer  specimen  of  Colonial  house  is  to  be  found  in  New 
England,  though  probably  it  was  built  early  in  the  present 
century. 

Just  here  the  road  forks,  one  branch  leading  to  Concord, 
the  other  to  Billerica.  At  the  "  parting  of  the  ways  "  stands 
the  "Winthrop  Oak,"  beneath  whose  branches  met  the  men 
of  Bedford  and  towns  near  by  on  the  morning  of  April  19, 


Some  distance  out  on  the  Billerica  branch  is  still  to  be 
seen  an  old 


GARRISON  HOUSE. 

It  was  from  a  room  in  the  upper  story  of  this  house  that 
a  brave  young  woman,  unable  to  make  the  soldier  on  guard 
see  a  lurking  Indian,  seized  a  gun  and  shot  him  herself. 

From  the  historian  of  Bedford,  Mr.  Abram  English  Brown, 
the  writer  was  surprised  to  learn  that  seventy-seven  men  of 
the  town  were  in  the  Concord  fight.  Fifty-two  of  them  lie 
buried  in  the  old  cemetery  near  the  Common.  This  ceme- 
tery well  repays  a  visit.  Among  other  quaint  and  curious 
things  to  be  seen  here  is  a  bowlder  bearing  a  tablet  with 
the  following  inscription  : 


CAMBRIDGE   MOORE, 
CAESAR  PRESCOTT, 

CAESAR  JONES, 

NEGRO  SLAVES,  SOLDIERS 

IN  THE  REVOLUTION, 


Bedford.  61 


Michael  Bacon  and  his  descendants  have  been  among  the 
most  prominent  of  Bedford  families  since  the  settlement  of 
the  town. 


THE  BACON  HOUSE 

has  been  occupied  by  six  generations  of  that  name  since  its 
erection  about  1682.  It  is  on  the  hill  on  Mill  Street,  about 
a  mile  from  its  junction  with  Page  Street.  It  is  a  large  two- 
story  house,  facing  the  south,  and  commands  a  beautiful  and 
extended  prospect  up  and  down  the  valley  of  the  Shawshine. 
On  the  opposite  side  of  the  street  and  a  half-mile  south- 
ward is  to  be  seen  one  of  the 


PAGE   HOUSES. 

One  of  the  family  was  a  captain  of  minute-men  and  led  in 
the  fight  at  Concord  bridge,  April  19,  1775. 

Among  the  historic  relics  of  the  town  is  the  banner  carried 
by  the  company  on  that  day.  The  house  is  probably  two 
hundred  years  old,  but  seems  likely  to  last  many  more.  One 
of  the  oldest  of  the  Page  houses  has  been  recently  removed 
and  remodeled.  It  stands  on  Page  Street,  on  the  other  side 
of  the  farm,  which  was  once  five  hundred  acres  in  extent. 
Page  is,  and  always  has  been,  an  honored  name  in  Bedford 
and  Billerica.  The  old  farm,  much  reduced  in  size,  is  now 
owned  by  descendants  of  the* family  of  the  eighth  generation. 


62  Bedford. 

Opposite  the  place  where  Page  Street  crosses  the  Shaw- 
shine  River  is  the 


KENRICK  HOUSE, 

or  tavern,  Benjamin  Danforth  being  the  keeper  at  the  time 
of  the  incorporation  of  the  town,  the  house  being  commonly 
known  as  the 

"SHAWSHINE." 


It  occupies  the  probable  site  of  the  Shawshine  trading 
post  of  the  time  of  King  Philip.  Its  location  at  the  head  of 
navigation  for  canoes  shows  how  wisely  the  spot  was  chosen 
to  aid  the  Indians  in  bartering  the  products  of  the  chase  for 
the  goods  of  the  white  man. 

But  of  all  the  historic  spots  of  Bedford  and  Billerica  there 
is  none  that  will  have  a  more  lasting  interest  than 


THE  BROTHER  ROCKS, 

located  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Concord  River,  about  two 
miles  from  Bedford  Springs. 

The  following  extract  from  John  Winthrop's  journal  of 
April  24,  1638,  will  explain  the  origin  of  the  name  : 

"  The  Governour  and  Deputy  [Dudley]  went  to  Concord  to  view- 
some  land  for  farms,  and,  going  down  the  river  about  four  miles,  they 
made  choice  of  a  place  for  one  thousand  acres  for  each  of  them.  .  .  . 
At  the  place  where  the  Deputy's  land  was  to  begin,  there  were  two 
great  stones,  which  they  called  The  Two  Brothers,  in  remembrance  that 
they  were  brothers  by  their  children's  marriage  and  did  so  brotherly 
agree." 

This  interesting  incident  has  been  commemorated  by 
"  Winthrop-i638  "  on  one  of  the  rocks  and  "Dudley"  on 
the  other. 


Billerica. 


Not  to  know  Billerica  is  to  be  ignorant  of  the  most  beau- 
tiful, healthful,  and  enterprising  hill  town  of  the  Common- 
wealth. This  is  certainly  the  opinion  of  its  residents,  and 
the  one  who  would  contend  for  the  contrary  would  need  to 
be  armed  with  stout  arguments. 

Her  public  library,  the  gift  of  an  old  resident,  Mrs. 
Bennett,  while  stocked  with  choice  books  in  goodly  num- 
ber, also  contains  a  valuable  collection  of  historic  bric-a-brac, 
under  the  guardianship  of  the  Billerica  Historical  Society. 

This  society  is  engaged  at  the  present  time  in  the  praise- 
worthy work  of  designating  by  tablets  in  stone  the  historic 
houses  and  spots  of  the  town.  At  North  Billerica,  easily 
seen  from  both  the  street  and  steam  cars,  is  a  massive 
bowlder  with  the  following  inscription  : 


BIRTHPLACE  AND  HOME  OF 
ASA  POLLARD, 

\>> 

FIRST  TO  FALL  AT  BUNKER  HlLL, 
JUNE  17,  1775. 


64  Billerica. 

Near  the  Billerica  line,  though  in  the  town  of  Burlington, 
stands,  in  a  very  dilapidated  and  weatherworn  condition, 


THE   AMOS   WYMAN  HOUSE. 

It  is  the  farmhouse,  and  is  reached  with  about  equal  ease 
from  Billerica  and  Woburn  (formerly  in  the  latter  town) 
by  the  road  connecting  the  towns,  known  as  the  "  Boston  " 
road.  It  is  on  a  road  at  right  angles  with  the  "  Boston  " 
road,  and  about  a  mile  from  where  the  latter  crosses  the 
Shawshine. 

The  name  of  Wyman  is,  and  has  been,  a  prominent  and 
honored  one  in  Charlestown,  Woburn,  and  Billerica  for  two 
hundred  years,  or  since  the  arrival  of  the  two  brothers,  John 
and  Francis,  who  finally  settled  in  Woburn  in  1640.  Amos 
was  probably  a  son  of  one  of  these,  and  built  the  house  that 
bears  his  name  in  1666.  The  house  stands  upon  an  em- 
bankment buttressed  by  a  stone  wall,  the  top  of  which  is 
reached  by  rude  stone  steps.  In  front  of  the  embankment 


THE     AMOS     WYMAN      HOUSE.  65 

stand  five  giant  buttomvoods  that  must  have  been  planted 
soon  after  the  house  was  built.  At  the  southeast  corner  of 
the  house  is  the  well  from  which  is  drawn  by  the  primitive 
"  sweep  "  the  most  delicious  water. 

The  present  owner,  who  has  lived  in  the  house  for  the 
past  seventy-one  years,  is  Joshua  Reed,  born  in  the  vicinity 
April  3,  1801.  A  bit  of  money  placed  in  his  palm  gives 
one  the  "freedom  of  the  house."  A  noticeable  oddity  is 
the  peculiar  construction  of  the  cellar  stairs.  To  parallel 
stringers  of  oak  placed  at  the  proper  slant  are  fastened,  with 
large  wooden  pins,  triangular  blocks  of  solid  wood.  This 
may  have  been  common  in  the  early  days,  but  no  similar 
case  is  known  to  us.  Bits  of  fluted  finish  still  cling  about 
the  front  door,  an  indication  that  the  builder  was  a  person 
of  means  in  his  day. 


66  Lancaster. 


Probably  each  particular  town  in  the  State  has  some  pecu- 
liar excellence  not  possessed  by  the  others,  at  least  in  the 
same  degree.  It  is  certainly  true  that  the  visitor  to  Lan- 
caster is  struck  by  the  rich  and  varied  beauty  that  Nature 
has  bestowed  upon  the  town.  It  is  here  that  the  north  and 
the  south  branches  unite  to  form  the  Nashua  River;  here 
are  to  be  found  a  dozen  or  more  ponds  and  lakes  that  nestle 
enchantingly  among  the  hills  ;  and  here  are  her  far-famed 
Intervales,  of  rich  arable  land ;  so  that  one  readily  sees  the 
fitness  of  the  common  expression  "Beautiful  Lancaster." 

The  various  attacks  upon  the  town  by  the  Indians,  in 
1675-6,  under  the  instigation  of  the  wily  King  Philip,  are 
matters  of  history. 

It  is  not  so  generally  known,  however,  that  in  the  last 
massacre  and  conflagration  of  February  9,  1776,  only  two 
buildings  escaped,  —  the  one  a  church,  the  other  a  house 
known  as 


THE   JONATHAN  LOCKE  HOUSE. 

It  is  now  the  residence  of  a  gentleman  by  the  name  of 
Mr.  N.  C.  Hawkins,  who  has  owned  and  lived  in  it  since 
1859. 

The  owner  takes  commendable  pride  in  the  old  house,  and 
keeps  it  in  excellent  repair.  "  In  old  times  there  was  a  rope 
hanging  from  the  rooftree  and  reaching  to  a  well  in  the 
cellar,  enabling  the  family  to  get  water  if  besieged  by  an 
enemy." 


Medford. 


67 


THE   ISAAC   ROYALL  HOUSE. 

It  was  built  by  Colonel  Isaac  Royall,  previously  a  West 
Indian  merchant,  in  1737,  and  was  at  the  time  considered 
one  of  the  finest  mansions  in  North  America.  He  brought 
with  him  twenty-seven  domestic  slaves,  for  whose  accommo- 
dation was  erected  a  building  of  brick,  now  standing  a  little 
to  the  south  of  the  mansion  itself.  During  the  siege  of 
Boston  it  was  the  headquarters  of  General  John  Stark,  of 
New  Hampshire.  It  was  also  occupied  for  brief  periods  by 
General  Sullivan  and  General  Charles  Lee,  the  latter  giving 
it  the  name  of  "  Hobgoblin  Hall." 

The  builder  lived  to  enjoy  his  beautiful  home  but  two 
years.  After  the  Revolution  it  was  restored  to  his  son, 
Isaac,  who  founded  the  first  professorship  of  law  at  Har- 
vard. The  house  is  located  on  Main  Street,  corner  of 
Royall,  nearly  a  half-mile  from  the  center  of  the  city. 


68 


Medford. 


THE   CRADOCK  HOUSE. 

It  was  so  called  from  Matthew  Cradock,  first  governor  of 
the  Massachusetts  Company  in  New  England,  and  was  built 
in  1634.  It  is  probably  the  first  brick  house  built  in  the 
colony,  and  claims  to  be  the  oldest  now  standing  in  North 
America.  Visitors  should  notice  the  circular  portholes  in 
the  second  story,  as  they  will  then  more  clearly  understand 
the  name  of  "The  Old  Fort,"  given  it  by  the  early  inhabit- 
ants of  "  Mistick." 

It  is  now  the  property  of  ex-Mayor  Lawrence,  who  has 
shown  much  public  spirit  in  restoring  it  to  its  primitive  con- 
dition as  regards  its  exterior.  It  is  situated  on  Riverside 
Avenue,  on  the  north  side  of  the  Mystic,  and  nearly  midway 
between  the  cities  of  Medford  and  Maiden. 


Medford.  69 

On  Grove  Street,  West  Medford,  on  the  celebrated  Peter 
Chardon  Brooks  estate,  is  to  be  seen  a  brick  wall,  capped 
with  slabs  of  freestone,  which  is  about  seventy  feet  in  length, 
and  is  said  to  have  been  built  by  slaves  more  than  two  hun- 
dred years  ago. 

Not  far  from  this  wall  is  a  noted  black  walnut  tree  twenty 
feet  in  circumference,  and  supposed  to  be  four  hundred 
years  old. 

Also  within  the  grounds  of  Mr.  Francis  Brooks  is  to  be 
seen  a  granite  pillar  with  the  following  inscription  : 


To 

SAGAMORE  JOHN 

AND  THOSE  MYSTIC 

INDIANS  WHOSE  BONES 

LIE    HERE. 

Sagamore  John  of  Medford,  Sagamore  James  of  Lynn, 
and  Sagamore  George  of  Salem  were  sons  of  Sachem 
Nanephashemet. 

At  Medford  Center  stands  a  fine  brick  building  bearing 
the  name  of  Joseph  Seccomb,  and  erected  in  1756. 


THE  JONATHAN  BROOKS  HOUSE, 

No.  2  Woburn  Street,  facing  Rock  Hill,  is  about  two  hun- 
dred years  old,  and  may  be  easily  distinguished  by  three 
fine  sycamores  in  front. 

A  part  of  the  house  next  to  the  above,  No.  309  High 
Street,  is  equally  old,  and  boasts  the  possession  of  a  clock 
made  in  1743.  It  keeps  the  time  even  now  with  surprising 
accuracy. 


70  Winchester. 

Winchester  was  formed  chiefly  of  the  territory  formerly 
known  as  South  Woburn,  but  includes  some  portions  of 
West  Cambridge  (Arlington)  and  Medford. 

The  name  was  given  in  honor  of  William  P.  Winchester, 
a  public-spirited  citizen  of  Boston.  The  town  was  incorpo- 
rated May  7,  1850. 

Perhaps  the  most  famous  old  house  ever  within  its  limits 
was 

THE   BLACK  HORSE  TAVERN. 

It  was  built,  in  1742,  on  Black  Horse  Hill,  Maine  Street, 
facing  the  Black  Horse  Terrace  of  to-day,  and  was  standing 
as  late  as  a  dozen  years  ago,  the  march  of  improvement 
requiring  its  demolition.  It  was  a  rallying  point  for  the 
minute-men,  and  they  met  here  on  the  morning  of  the  battle 
of  Lexington. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  it  was  made  a  resting-place 
by  Benjamin  Thompson  (Count  Rumford)  and  his  friend, 
Loammi  Baldwin,  during  their  long  walk  from  North  Woburn 
to  Harvard  to  listen  to  the  lectures  of  Professor  Winthrop. 


BROOKS   HOUSE. 

At  Symmes'  Corner  was  standing  till  recently  the  birth- 
place of  John  Brooks.  It  was  built  more  than  a  hundred 
and  seventy  years  ago.  He  was  governor  from  1816  to 
1823.  He  did  important  military  service  in  the  Revolu- 
tion, his  most  brilliant  achievement  being  the  storming  and 
carrying  of  the  German  intrenchments  at  Saratoga. 

Winchester  has  many  interesting  historic  spots  that  will 
undoubtedly  be  marked  by  permanent  tablets  in  the  near 
future.  One  would  like  to  see  the  site  of  Squaw  Sachem's 
wigwam,  corner  of  Church  and  Cambridge  Streets,  thus  in- 
dicated. That  of  her  husband,  the  powerful  Nanephashemet 
(New  Moon),  was  on  Rock  Hill,  High  Street,  corner  of  Hast- 
ing's  Lane,  West  Medford,  and  commanded  a  fine  view  of 
the  Mystic.  To  describe  adequately  the  natural  beauties  of 
Winchester  would  require  many  pages  and  a  gifted  pen. 


Maiden.  71 


Maiden  is  among  the  most  wealthy  and  enterprising  of 
our  group  of  new  cities,  having  increased  in  population 
more  than  tenfold  since  1871. 

It  has  at  least  one  pre-Revolutionary  house  worthy  of 
mention,  which  is  commonly  known  as  the 


MISSIONARY   HOUSE, 

and  is  numbered  145  Main  Street,  corner  of  Wilson  Avenue. 
It  was  built,  about  1733,  as  a  parsonage  for  the  Rev.  Joseph 
Emerson,  but  is  especially  distinguished  as  the  birthplace 
of  the  Rev.  Adoniram  Judson,  who  was  born  August  9, 
1788,  and  who  was  the  first  missionary  from  this  country 
to  Burmah. 

He  went  to  Burmah  in  1813,  translated  the  Bible  into 
Burmese,  and  wrote  a  Burmese-English  dictionary.  He 
died  at  sea  in  1850. 

"  How  beautiful  upon  the  mountains  are  the  feet  of  him 
that  bringeth  good  tidings,  that  publisheth  peace." 

The  old  house  stands  within  ample  grounds,  and  is  quite 
embowered  in  trees,  the  most  noticeable  one  being  a  mag- 
nificent specimen  of  buttonwood,  or  American  sycamore. 


Woburn. 


BENJAMIN  THOMPSON  HOUSE. 

(COUNT  RUMFORD.) 

This  house,  built  in  1714  by  Ebenezer  Thompson,  grand- 
father of  the  count,  and  now  carefully  preserved  by  a  society 
formed  for  the  purpose,  is  the  birthplace  of  the  famous 
Count  Rumford,  who  was  born  here  March  26,  1753.  It  is 
No.  90  Elm  Street,  North  Woburn,  adjacent  to  land  occu- 
pied by  the  ancestors  of  ex-President  Cleveland. 

During  a  part  of  the  war  of  the  Revolution  he  fought 
against  the  Colonists.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  entered 
the  service  of  the  King  of  Bavaria,  from  whom,  on  account 
of  great  service  to  the  State,  he  received  the  title  of  Count 
of  Rumford,  the  name  Rumford  formerly  being  the  name  of 
Concord,  New  Hampshire,  where  he  at  one  time  taught 
school.  He  deserves  credit  as  an  original  scientific  investi- 
gator and  discoverer,  and  also  as  being  one  of  the  founders 


BENJAMIN     THOMPSON     HOUSE.  73 

of  the  far-famed  Royal  Institution  of  Great  Britain,  having 
drawn  up  its  original  plan  in  1799. 

He  gave  five  thousand  dollars  to  the  American  Academy 
of  Arts  and  Sciences,  an  equal  sum  to  the  Royal  Society, 
London,  and  founded  the  Rumford  professorship  at  Har- 
vard. He  died  in  1814. 


THE   BALDWIN  HOUSE. 

Another  Woburn  house  much  sought  for  by  visitors  to 
this  interesting  town  is  that  of  Colonel  Baldwin  (now  No. 
12  Elm  Street,  North  Woburn),  a  friend  of  Count  Rumford, 
though  he  fought  with  the  patriots  at  Lexington  and  during 
the  siege  of  Boston.  The  house  was  built,  in  1661,  by  Henry 
Baldwin,  the  great-grandfather  of  the  colonel. 

Colonel  Baldwin  was  the  engineer  under  whose  supervi- 
sion the  Middlesex  Canal  was  constructed,  a  portion  of  which 
is  still  to  be  seen  on  the  Brooks  estate,  near  Mystic  Pond, 
West  Medford.  The  Baldwin  apple  was  named  for  the 
colonel. 

Woburn  was  incorporated  in  1642,  and  was  previously 
known  as  "  Charlestown  Village." 


74  Stoneham. 


Stoneham  was  a  part  of  Charlestown,  known  as  "  Charles- 
town  End,"  till  1725,  when  it  was  incorporated  under  its 
present  name.  Its  first  settler  was  Richard  Holden,  who 
removed  to  that  part  of  Charlestown  in  1640.  A  goodly 
number  of  his  descendants  are  still  living  here  and  in  the 
mother  town. 

Among  the  most  interesting  of  its  old  houses  is 


THE  JONATHAN  GREEN  HOUSE, 

standing  erect  upon  its  "foot-square"  oak  sills  during  the 
summers  and  winters  of  nearly  two  hundred  years.  The 
old  house,  bereft  of  its  ancient  massive  chimney,  is  still  in 
the  possession  of  the  descendants  of  Richard  Green.  They 
have  a  tradition  that  slaves  at  one  time  performed  the  labor 
on  the  estate,  which  consisted  of  nearly  five  hundred  acres 
and  extended  to  Spot  Pond. 

It  is  numbered  37  Perkins  Street,  and  is  just  across  the 
line  from  the  beautiful  and  picturesque  Melrose  Highlands. 


Somerville. 


75 


A  SHARP  FIGHT  OCCURRED  HERE 

BETWEEN  THE  PATRIOTS  AND  THE  BRITISH 

APRIL  19,  1775. 


THIS  MARKS  BRITISH  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES. 


The  house  in  front  of  which  this  tablet  stands  was  built 
by  Timothy  Tufts,  and  was  a  witness  of  the  "  sharp  fight." 

It  is  now  (1897)  the  home  of  Mr.  Timothy  Tufts,  grand- 
son of  the  builder,  and  a  genial  old  gentleman  of  seventy- 
eight  years  of  age.  It  is  on  Elm  Street,  corner  of  Willow. 


Somerville. 


THE   SAMUEL  TUFTS  HOUSE. 

No  one  acquainted  with  the  part  that  General  Nathaniel 
Greene  took  in  establishing  the  liberties  of  our  country 
ever  speaks  or  thinks  of  him  without  feelings  of  admiration 
second  only  to  those  felt  for  Washington  himself. 

This  house,  on  Somerville  Avenue,  near  Loring  Street, 
was  General  Greene's  headquarters  during  the  siege  of 
Boston.  Past  this  house  marched  the  British  on  their  way 
to  Lexington ;  the  owner  at  the  time,  says  The  Somerville 
Journal,  was  in  his  kitchen  running  bullets. 

The  house  is  well  preserved,  but  is  not  outwardly  im- 
proved by  the  addition  of  modern  chimney-tops. 


Somerville.  77 


On  Sycamore  Street,  near  the  railroad  crossing,  stands, 
though  recently  removed  a  few  rods  from  its  old  site  for 
street  improvement,  the  John  Tufts  House.  During  the 
siege  of  Boston  it  was  the  headquarters  of  General  Charles 
Lee. 

Southwest  of  this  lies  the  most  beautiful  and  famous  Pros- 
pect Hill  of  Somerville,  once  called  Mt.  Pisgah.  It  is  the 
site  of  the  great  earthwork  built,  by  order  of  General  Putnam, 
after  the  retreat  from  Bunker  Hill. 

Here,  animated  by  a  commendable  public  and  patriotic 
spirit,  the  city  has  mounted  several  massive  cannon  on  sub- 
stantial iron  carriages. 


Somerville. 


THE   OLD   POWDER   HOUSE. 

Near  Tufts  College,  Somerville,  is  one  of  the  most  inter- 
esting relics  of  Colonial  times  to  be  met  with  in  the  Old 
Bay  State. 

It  was  built  about  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury by  one  John  Mallet  as  a  mill  for  grinding  corn. 

It  became  the  property  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony 
in  1747,  and  was  used  as  a  powder  magazine  till  a  more 
commodious  one  was  built  on  Captain  Patrick's  Island, 


THE     OLD     POWDER     HOUSE.  79 

Charles  River,  now  a  ruin,  at  the  foot  of  Magazine  Street, 
Cambridge. 

The  British,  September  i,  1774,  came  here  and  seized  two 
hundred  and  fifty  half-barrels  of  powder.  The  legend  (see 
Drake's  Landmarks  of  Middlesex)  takes  one  back  to  the 
time  and  home  of  Evangeline. 


8o 


Somerville. 


Soon  after  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  a  strong  five-sided 
earthwork  was  made  by  the  Americans  on  Winter  Hill,  to 
command  the  Mystic  and  the  approach  by  land  to  Medford. 
It  was  under  the  command  of  General  Sullivan. 

General  John  Sullivan  was  born  in  Berwick,  Maine,  in 
1740.  He  took  part  in  the  battles  of  Trenton  and  Prince- 
ton, and  led  the  right  wing  of  the  army  at  the  battle  of 
Brandy  wine.  He  was  afterward  made  attorney-general  of 
New  Hampshire,  and  was  three  times  "  president "  of  that 
State.  His  brother,  James,  also  born  in  Berwick,  was  twice 
elected  governor  of  Massachusetts. 

On  Main  Street,  opposite  its  junction  with  Broadway,  is  a 
tablet  with  the  following  inscription  : 


PAUL  REVERE 
PASSED  OVER  THIS  ROAD  ON  HIS 

MIDNIGHT  RIDE 
TO  LEXINGTON  AND  CONCORD 

APRIL  18,  1775. 


SITE  OF  THE  WINTER  HILL  FORT, 

A  STRONGHOLD  BUILT  BY 

THE  AMERICAN  FORCES 

WHILE  BESIEGING  BOSTON 

I77S-6. 


Somerville. 


81 


*$s$ 

JOHN  WOOLWICH, 

INDIAN  TRADER, 

BUILT  NEAR  THIS  PLACE 

IN    1630. 

THE    FIRST    WHITE    SETTLER 
ON    SOMERVILLE    SOIL. 


This  tablet  is  on  Washington  Street  (the  continuation  of 
Kirkland  Street,  Cambridge),  corner  of  Dane,  not  far  from 
the  boundary  line  between  the  cities  of  Somerville  and 
Cambridge. 


82  Boston. 


It  would  be  interesting  to  know  how  many  persons  in 
New  England  are  able  to  trace  pleasing  associations  with 
the  name  of  Boston  to  the  early  recollections  of  their  child- 
hood. We  suspect  the  number  is  legion.  Her  history  and 
traditions  are  so  worthy  and  noble — so  numerous  are  her 
deeds  of  patriotism  and  works  of  philanthropy — as  to  be 
sure  to  inspire  in  young  minds  sentiments  of  love  and 
respect. 

To  know  Boston  well,  — her  educators,  scholars,  and  states- 
men, her  benevolent  institutions  and  her  institutions  of  learn- 
ing,—  would  be  in  itself  a  liberal  education.  It  must  needs 
be  of  no  small  interest,  therefore,  to  know  something  of  her 
infancy  and  childhood  in  a  brief  consideration  of  some  of 
her  most  famous  old  buildings  and  historic  spots. 


Boston.  83 


'OSITE    THIS    SPOT 
WAS    SHED 

IE  FIRST  BLOOD 
MERICAN  REVOLUTION. 


A  tablet  with  the  above  inscription  is  to  be  seen  on  a 
building  on  State  Street,  corner  of  Exchange.  "  Opposite 
this  spot  "  refers  to  the  place  of  the  Boston  Massacre,  March 

5.  1770. 

Directly  opposite  this  tablet  is  the  site  of  the  first  church 
in  Boston,  the  first  minister  being  the  Rev.  John  Wilson, 
the  very  man  whose  harangue  from  the  branches  of  an  old 
oak  on  Cambridge  Common  decided  an  election  for  gov- 
ernor against  Henry  Vane  and  in  favor  of  John  Winthrop. 
This  first  church  was  built  in  1632,  and  was  a  rude  structure 
of  logs  with  a  thatched  roof. 

Dorchester  Heights,  South  Boston,  now  Telegraph  Hill, 
has  upon  it  a  granite  monument  telling  that  on  this  ridge 
Washington  placed  the  batteries  that  drove  the  British  from 
Boston.  Dorchester  Heights  was  a  part  of  the  town  of 
Dorchester  till  1804. 


84 


Boston. 


THE    OLD     SOUTH     CHURCH. 


Boston.  85 


THE    OLD    SOUTH   CHURCH. 

The  affectionate  regard  in  which  this  venerable  meeting- 
house is  held  extends  much  beyond  the  limits  of  Boston. 
It  was  built  in  1729  on  its  present  site,  Washington  Street, 
corner  of  Milk.  It  was  for  a  long  time  the  rallying  point 
for  patriots  in  times  of  political  excitement,  and  for  the  dis- 
cussion of  questions  of  moment  to  the  Colony.  It  was  here 
that  the  "  Indians  "  donned  their  fantastic  suits  preparatory 
to  emptying  the  tea  into  the  harbor.  The  British,  during 
the  Revolutionary  War,  used  it  for  cavalry  drill  and  exercise, 
thus  causing  Washington  to  remark  that  he  could  not  under- 
stand the  reverence  of  the  British  for  their  own  churches 
when  they  so  readily  desecrated  this. 

The  church  was  bought  of  the  owners,  by  the  Old  South 
Preservation  Society,  for  $430,000,  and  is  now  a  rich  mu- 
seum of  historic  relics. 


86 


Boston. 


THE   OLD   STATE   HOUSE. 

Where  the  Old  State  House  now  stands  stood  the  Town 
House  of  1657.  This  was  succeeded  in  1713  by  a  State 
House,  and  this  in  turn  by  the  present  building,  erected  in 
1748,  at  the  head  of  State  Street.  Directly  in  front  of  the 
eastern  end  of  the  building  the  Boston  Massacre  took  place, 
March  5,  1770. 

"  Here,"  says  John   Adams,  "  Independence  was  born." 


THE     OLD     STATE     HOUSE.  87 

And  it  was  here  that  the  patriots,  Samuel  and  John  Adams, 
James  Otis,  and  Joseph  Warren  contended  against  British 
oppression  with  a  zeal  and  stoutness  of  heart  born  of  the 
profoundest  conviction. 

It  is  now  a  museum  in  charge  of  the  Bostonian  Society, 
and  contains  two  thousand  or  more  historic  objects  of  great 
interest  and  value  to  the  student  of  Colonial  times. 


88 


Boston. 


FANEUIL    HALL. 


Boston. 


FANEUIL   HALL. 

Peter  Faneuil,  a  descendant  of  the  Huguenots,  was  born 
at  New  Rochelle,  New  York,  in  1700,  and  died  in  Boston 
at  the  age  of  forty-three  years. 

"  He  possessed  a  large  estate,  and  employed  it  in  doing 
good." 

Faneuil  Hall,  the  "  Cradle  of  Liberty,"  was  built  by  him 
and  presented  to  the  city  of  Boston  for  a  market  and  public 
hall,  the  hall  to  be  for  the  perpetual  use  of  the  people  free 
of  charge. 

If  it  be  the  object  of  a  monument  to  perpetuate  the 
memory,  how  excellent  is  the  one  Peter  Faneuil  erected  to 
himself  in  the  noble  building  that  bears  his  name  ! 

The  original  building  was  finished  in  1743,  but,  being 
burnt,  was  rebuilt  in  1763,  the  dedicatory  oration  being  de- 
livered by  James  Otis.  In  1806  it  was  greatly  enlarged 
under  the  direction  of  the  celebrated  architect,  Bulfinch. 

Its  walls  have  resounded  to  more  genuine  eloquence  than 
those  of  any  other  building  in  Boston,  for  here  have  spoken 
the  Adamses,  Otis,  Warren,  Webster,  and  a  host  of  others. 
To  look  upon  the  works  of  art  that  adorn  its  walls  is  in  itself 
an  inspiration,  for  here  are  to  be  seen  portraits  of  Wash- 
ington, Knox,  Hancock,  the  Adamses,  Governor  Andrew, 
General  Warren,  Faneuil,  Lincoln,  Everett,  Commodore 
Preble,  and  Webster  in  the  act  of  replying  to  Hayne  in  the 
United  States'  Senate. 

It  is  between  North  and  South  Market  Streets. 


9o 


Boston. 


HOUSE   OF   PAUL   REVERE. 

In  North  Square  there  is  now  standing  an  old  house  of 
the  "  overhang  "  pattern,  having  on  its  front  a  tablet  with 
the  following  inscription  : 


HERE  LIVED 

PAUL  REVERE 

1770-1800. 

PLACED   BY 

PAUL  REVERE  CHAPTER 
DAUGHTERS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION. 


The  house  in  which  he  was  born,  January  i,  1735,  stood 
on  Hanover  (then  North),  opposite  Clark  Street,  near  the 
corner  of  Tileston.  He  was  the  son  of  Paul  and  Deborah 
(Hitchborn)  Revere,  descendants  of  a  noble  Huguenot 
family,  and  was  the  third  of  twelve  children.  He  learned 
of  his  father  the  art  of  working  in  silver  and  gold,  and 
taught  himself  to  engrave  on  copper,  money  for  the  Provin- 
cial Congress  being  printed  from  plates  engraved  by  him. 

He  also  established  a  foundry  for  casting  bells  and  cannon 
in  Boston  and  a  copper  rolling  mill  in  Canton,  Massachu- 
setts, still  bearing  his  name.  He  was  educated  at  the  North 
Grammar  School,  North  Bennett  Street,  with  which  school 
John  Tileston  was  connected  as  pupil,  teacher,  and  master 
for  eighty  years.  His  place  of  worship  was  chiefly  the  "  New 
Brick  Church,"  commonly  known  as  the  "Cockerel  Church," 
the  site  of  which  is  now  occupied  by  the  Boston  Seaman's 
Friend  Society  building,  numbered  287  Hanover  Street, 


HOUSE     OF     PAUL     REVERE.  91 

nearly  opposite  Parmenter.  After  a  service  of  one  hundred 
and  forty-eight  years  on  the  spire  of  the  New  Brick  Church, 
the  "cockerel,"  made  by  Deacon  Shem  Drowne,  is  still 
doing  duty  as  a  weather-vane  from  the  lofty  spire  of  the 
Shepard  Memorial  Church,  Cambridge.  Paul  Revere  was 
a  staunch  patriot,  one  of  the  Boston  "  Tea  Party,"  whose 
memory  is  perpetuated  in  the  Revere  House,  Boston,  in  the 
town  of  Revere,  formerly  North  Chelsea,  but  in  no  way  more 
lastingly  than  in  "  The  Midnight  Ride  of  Paul  Revere,"  by 
Longfellow. 


92  Boston. 


KING'S  CHAPEL. 

This  historic  old  church  stands  on  Tremont  Street,  cor- 
ner of  School,  and  was  the  first  Episcopal  Church  in  New 
England.  It  was  here  that  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  wor- 
shiped for  the  most  part,  and  of  it  he  speaks  in  words  of 
affection.  It  is  now  a  Unitarian  Church. 


THE   OLD   NORTH   CHURCH. 

The  building  was  torn  down  by  the  British  in  1775.  It 
fronted  North  Square,  about  which  there  lived  in  Colonial 
times  several  aristocratic  families. 


Boston. 


93 


CHRIST    CHURCH. 

This  church,  the  "Old  North 
Church  "  of  Longfellow's  poem,  is 
on  Salem  Street,  opposite  Hull, 
and  was  built  in  1723.  From 
the  tower  of  this  church  General 
Gage  witnessed  the  battle  of 
Bunker  Hill.  Tablets  with  the 
following  inscriptions  are  to  be 
seen  upon  its  front : 


THE  SIGNAL  LANTERNS  OF 

PAUL  REVERE 
DISPLAYED  IN  THE  STEEPLE  OF  THIS  CHURCH 

APRIL  18,  1775, 
WARNED  THE  COUNTRY  OF  THE  MARCH 

OF  THE  BRITISH  TROOPS  TO 

$ 

LEXINGTON  AND  CONCORD. 


94  Boston. 


THE  OLD  CORNER  BOOKSTORE. 

On  Washington  Street,  corner  of  School,  is  the  Old  Cor- 
ner Bookstore,  erected  in  1712,  and  said  to  be  the  oldest 
brick  building  in  Boston. 

On  its  site  there  once  stood  the  house  of  Anne  Hutchin- 
son.  She  was  banished  from  Massachusetts  in  1637  because 
of  her  religious  views.  She  was  killed  in  New  York  by  the 
Indians  in  1643. 

This  building  has  been  a  bookstore  since  1828,  and  is 
worthy  of  mention,  if  for  no  other  reason,  as  the  literary 
headquarters  of  our  own  most  famous  authors,  Longfellow, 
Holmes,  Whittier,  Lowell,  and  Emerson,  as  well  as  of  those 
visiting  Boston  from  abroad. 

The  site  of  the  house  of  John  Hancock,  built  in  1737  by 
his  uncle,  Thomas  Hancock,  and  demolished  in  1863,  is  on 
Beacon  Street,  a  little  west  of  the  present  State  House,  and 
is  marked  by  a  tablet. 

The  Somerset  Club  House,  42  Beacon  Street,  occupies 
the  site  of  the  house  once  owned  by  the  great  artist,  John 
Singleton  Copley,  where  his  son,  of  the  same  name  (after- 
wards celebrated  as  Lord  Lyndhurst,  of  England),  was  born. 


Dorchester. 


95 


THE   PIERCE   HOUSE. 

This  house,  built  in  1635,  has  always  been  occupied  by 
persons  of  the  name  of  Pierce.  It  is  also  unique  in  another 
respect :  its  sides  are  lined  with  seaweed,  as  a  better  protec- 
tion against  the  arrows  of  the  Indians,  according  to  one 
authority.  We  suspect,  however,  if  the  whole  truth  were 
known,  a  desire  for  protection  against  the  shafts  of  old 
Boreas  might  have  had  something  to  do  with  it.  This  house 
stands  on  Oak  Avenue.  On  Washington  Street  stands  the 
Barnard-Capen  House,  a  portion  of  which  was  built  in  1632. 
The  Blake  House  was  built  in  1640,  and  is  near  Five 
Corners. 


96 


Dorchester. 


THE  EVERETT  HOUSE. 

Edward  Everett,  the  eloquent  and  finished  orator,  the 
profound  scholar,  the  great  statesman,  seems  to  be  of  our 
own  time  and  generation  ;  yet  he  was  born  in  1794,  in  Dor- 
chester, in  a  house  built  about  1770  by  his  father,  the  Rev. 
Oliver  Everett,  and  which  stands  on  the  corner  of  Boston 
and  Pond  Streets. 

He  was  professor  of  Greek  at  Harvard  College  1819-25, 
editor  of  the  North  American  Review  1819-24,  member  of 
Congress  1825-35,  governor  of  Massachusetts  1836-40, 
minister  to  England  1841-5,  president  of  Harvard  College 
1846-9,  and  Secretary  of  State  1852-3. 

His  Orations  and  Speeches  are  published  in  four  volumes. 
It  is  remarkable  that  Edward  should  have  attained  to  such 
fame  and  eminence  as  to  completely  overshadow  his  older 
brother,  Alexander,  who,  born  in  1792,  entered  Harvard 


THE     EVERETT     HOUSE.  97 

College  in  1802,  in  the  elevetith  year  of  his  age,  and,  although 
the  youngest  in  his  class,  he  was  graduated  with  the  highest 
honors.  He  was  a  noted  man  of  letters,  and  occupied  many 
important  positions  under  the  government  of  the  United 
States. 


Milton. 


THE  VOSE   HOUSE. 

("THE  BIRTHPLACE  OF  AMERICAN  LIBERTY.") 

The  following  inscription  is  now  to  be  seen  on  a  tablet 
on  the  Vose  House.  For  a  full  text  of  the  "  Suffolk  Re- 
solves "  see  Life  and  Times  of  Joseph  Warren,  by  Richard 
Frothingham.  These  Resolves  were  taken  to  the  Conti- 
nental Congress  in  Philadelphia  by  Paul  Revere. 

This  interesting  old  house  is  near  the  bridge  at  Milton 
Lower  Mills,  on  Adams  Street,  and  is  noticeable  for  the 
stately  English  elms  (six  in  number)  that  surround  and 
tower  above  it  as  if  in  perpetual  guardianship. 


THE    VOSE     HOUSE. 


99 


IN  THIS  MANSION  ON  THE  QTH  OF  SEPT.  1774,  AT  A 
MEETING  OF  THE  DELEGATES  OF  EVERY  TOWN  AND 
DISTRICT  IN  THE  COUNTY  OF  SUFFOLK,  THE  MEMORA- 
BLE SUFFOLK  RESOLVES  WERE  ADOPTED.  THEY  WERE 
REPORTED  BY  MAJ.-GEN.  JOSEPH  WARREN,  WHO  FELL 
IN  THEIR  DEFENCE,  IN  THE  BATTLE  OF  BUNKER  HlLL, 
JUNE  17,  1775.  THEY  WERE  APPROVED  BY  THE  MEM- 
BERS OF  THE  CONTINENTAL  CONGRESS,  AT  CARPEN- 
TERS HALL,  PHILADELPHIA,  ON  17,  SEPT.,  1774.  THE 
RESOLVES  TO  WHICH  THE  IMMORTAL  PATRIOT  HF.RE 
FIRST  GAVE  UTTERANCE,  AND  THE  HEROIC  DEEDS  OF 
THAT  EVENTFUL  DAY  ON  WHICH  HE  FELL,  LED  THE 
WAY  TO  AMERICAN  INDEPENDENCE.  POSTERITY  WILL 
ACKNOWLEDGE  THAT  VIRTUE  WHICH  PRESERVED  THEM 
FREE  AND  HAPPY. 


But  we  must  not  stop  with  the  Vose.  House,  for  the  beau- 
tiful town  of  Milton  can  show  several  others  of  interest. 

Following  Adams  Street  to  th,e  summit  of  Milton  Hill, 
there  appears  to  glad  eyes  a  vision  of  grandeur  and  beauty 
that  must  be  to  residents  "  a  joy  forever."  The  point  of 
view  is  eighty  feet  above  the  Neponset,  whose  broad  estuary 
extends  to  the  bay,  where  one  sees  the  shipping,  the  islands, 
and  the  lighthouses  of  Boston's  fine  harbor. 

This  inspiring  view  was  commanded  by  the  summer 
residence  of  Governor  Thomas  Hutchinson,  replaced  some 
twenty-five  years  ago  by  a  modern  house  standing  on  the 


100  MILTON. 

exact  site  of  the  old  mansion,  Adams  Street,  corner  of 
Hutchinson. 

The  old  farmhouse  and  barn,  built  in  1743,  are,  however, 
still  standing.  The  estate  consisted  originally  of  several 
hundred  acres  extending  on  the  north  and  east  to  the 
Neponset.  This  place  is  the  chief  scene  of  The  Governor's 
Garden,  by  George  R.  R.  Rivers,  and  is  now  owned  by  the 
heirs  of  the  late  Lydia  C.  Russell. 

Thomas  Hutchinson  was  born  in  Boston  in  1711,  and 
was  governor  from  1771  to  1774.  He  was  the  author  of  a 
History  of  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts  .Bay,  inherited  large 
wealth  from  his  father,  and  refused  to  live  in  the  "  ancient 
abode  of  the  royal  governors,"  the  Province  House,  on  the 
ground  that  he  had  a  better  one  of  his  own  in  North  Square. 


THE   TUCKER  HOUSE, 

near  Brush  Hill  Turnpike,  is  of  interest  because  of  the 
prominence  of  its  owner,  Dr.  Tucker,  a  surgeon  in  the 
Revolution.  It  is  said  to  have  been  built  in  1750. 


Roxbury. 


It  has  been  said  that  Boston  might  well  challenge  almost 
any  city  in  the  world  as  to  the  beauty  of  her  suburban  towns 
and  cities.  Roxbury  could  easily  claim  to  be  among  the 
first  of  these  in  picturesqueness. 

The  town  became  a  city  in  1846,  and  was  annexed  to 
Boston  in  1867.  During  the  Revolutionary  and  later  wars 
the  town  furnished  her  full  quota  of  both  officers  and  men, 
the  most  prominent  of  the  former  being  Generals  Dearborn, 
Heath,  and  Joseph  Warren. 

Probably  more  young  hearts  have  been  made  to  throb 
with  patriotic  emotions  by  stories  of  the  life  and  character 
of  Joseph  Warren  than  by  those  of  any  other  native  of  the 
Commonwealth. 

The  house  in  which  he  was  born  is  not  now  standing,  but 
its  site  is  marked  by  a  substantial  memorial  house  of  Rox- 
bury puddingstone  trimmed  with  granite.  Its  location  is 
130  Warren  Street,  a  short  distance  above  Dudley  Street. 


IO2 


Roxbury. 


On  the  left  of  the  front  entrance  is  a  tablet  bearing  the 
following  inscription  : 


ON  THIS  SPOT  STOOD  A  HOUSE,  ERECTED  IN 

1720  BY  JOSEPH  WARREN  OF  BOSTON, 
REMARKABLE  FOR  BEING  THE  BIRTHPLACE 

OF  GENERAL  JOSEPH  WARREN, 

HIS  GRANDSON,  WHO  WAS  KILLED  ON 

BUNKER  HILL  JUNE  17,  1775. 


On  the  right,  another  with  the  following  : 


JOHN  WARREN,  A  DISTINGUISHED  PHYSICIAN 

AND  ANATOMIST,  WAS  ALSO  BORN  HERE. 

THE  ORIGINAL  MANSION  BEING  IN  RUINS, 

THIS  HOUSE  WAS  BUILT  BY  JOHN  C.  WARREN,  M.D. 

IN  1846,  SON  OF  THE  LAST  NAMED,  AS  A 

PERMANENT  MEMORIAL  OF  THIS  SPOT. 


Roxbury. 


103 


The  beautiful  and  conspicuous  Cochituate  stand-pipe,  on 
Fort  Avenue,  near  Highland  Street,  stands  on  the  site  of  one 
of  the  strongest  forts  built  by  the  patriots  during  the  siege 
of  Boston. 

This  site  was,  with  one  exception,  the  highest  point  of 
land  in  Roxbury.  The  spot  is  further  marked  by  a  granite 
monument  bearing  the  following  inscription  : 


ON  THIS  EMINENCE  STOOD 

ROXBURY  HIGH  FORT, 

A  STRONG  EARTHWORK,  PLANNED  BY 

HENRY  KNOX  AND  JOSEPH  WATERS 

AND  ERECTED  BY  THE  AMERICAN  ARMY 

JUNE,  1775  —  CROWNING  THE  FAMOUS 

ROXBURY  LINES  OF  INVESTMENT. 


THE  SIEGE  OF 

BOSTON. 

Roxbury  High  Fort  commanded  the  Neck  and  also  the 
road  to  Dedham,  the  depot  of  military  supplies. 


104  Jamaica  Plain. 


"Jamaica  Plain,"  says  Francis  S.  Drake,  "is  one  of  the 
loveliest  spots  in  New  England." 

It,  being  a  part  of  West  Roxbury,  was  set  off  from  Rox- 
bury  in  1852,  and  with  it  is  now  a  part  of  Boston.  One  of 
the  most  interesting  old  houses  here  is 


THE   LORING  HOUSE. 

It  is  a  two-story  house,  with  porticos  on  three  sides  sup- 
ported by  fluted  columns,  and,  with  its  ample  and  well-kept 
grounds,  presents  a  most  pleasing  appearance.  It  is  oppo- 
site the  intersection  of  Centre  and  South  Streets,  directly 
opposite  the  Soldiers'  Monument. 

In  May,  1775,  it  was  the  headquarters  of  General  Greene. 

It  is  now  known  as  the  Greenough  Mansion. 

Loring  was  born  in  Roxbury,  held  the  king's  commission 
as  commodore,  and  did  most  active  and  efficient  service, 
being  at  the  capture  of  Quebec  with  General  Wolfe. 


Jamaica  Plain.  105 


THE    HALLOWELL   HOUSE. 

The  Hallowell  House  is  on  Centre  Street,  corner  of  Boyl- 
ston,  and  bears  upon  one  of  its  chimneys  its  name  and  the 
date,  1738.  During  the  siege  of  Boston  this  house  was 
taken  possession  of  by  the  patriots  and  used  as  a  hospital 
for  the  soldiers  in  camp  at  Roxbury. 

This,  coupled  with  the  fact  that  he  held  office  under  the 
crown,  leads  one  to  infer  that  he  was  a  Tory. 

Visitors  to  this  old  house,  which  seems  to  have  been 
changed  somewhat  in  recent  years,  will  be  pleased  to  notice 
the  fine  buttonwoods  that  stand  in  the  sidewalk  in  front  of 
the  estate. 


io6 


Dedham. 


THE   OLD  FAIRBANKS  HOUSE. 

We  believe  Dedham  may  well  claim  the  possession  of  the 
quaintest  old  "  lean-to  "  within  the  Commonwealth.  The 
main  house  was  built  in  1636,  the  year  of  the  founding  of 
Harvard  College,  by  John  Fairbanks,  who  came  the  previ- 
ous year  from  Somerby,  England,  bringing  with  him  some 
portions  of  the  framework  now  in  the  house.  The  east 
wing  was  built  to  accommodate  his  son  John,  who  was 
married  in  1641. 

The  house  has  always  been  the  residence  of  some  mem- 
ber of  the  Fairbanks  family,  its  present  occupant  being  a 
maiden  lady  of  the  eighth  generation. 

In  the  "best"  room  is  a  fine  oil  painting  of  Prudence 
Fairbanks  at  the  age  of  ninety  years,  she  being  of  the  sev- 
enth generation.  The  inventor  of  the  celebrated  Fairbanks 
scales  was  Thaddeus,  who,  having  been  knighted  by  the 
Austrian  emperor,  was  ever  after  known  as  Sir  Thaddeus. 

In  one  of  the  chambers  the  visitor  is  shown  utensils 
that  suggest  with  emphasis  primitive  times  in  the  Colony. 
Among  these  may  be  mentioned  an  ox  saddle,  reminding 


THE     OLD     FAIRBANKS     HOUSE.  107 

one  of  Priscilla,  the  Puritan  maiden,  as  "  through  the 
Plymouth  woods  passed  onward  the  bridal  procession "  ; 
also  a  wicker  pannier,  an  ancient  chafing  dish,  a  frying  pan 
with  handle  four  feet  in  length,  a  flintlock  musket  six  feet 
in  length,  and  old  Dutch  tiles  with  figures  in  blue,  —  a  sight 
to  make  one  "green  with  envy." 

The  house  is  on  East  Street,  corner  of  Eastern  Avenue. 
In  the  front  wall  is  a  tablet  with  the  following  inscription  : 


HOMESTEAD  OF 
JONATHAN  FAIRBANKS, 

WHO,  WITH  HIS  SONS, 
JOHN,  GEORGE,  AND  JONATHAN,  JR., 

SIGNED  THE 
DEDHAM  COVENANT 
SEPT.  10,  O.  S.  1636. 


io8 


Quincy. 


THE   ADAMS   HOUSES. 

About  half  a  mile  from  the  center  of  Quincy,  in  a  southerly 
direction,  on  the  old  Plymouth  road,  here  called  Hancock 
Street,  stand  the  quaint  old  Adams  Houses,  the  one  at  the 
right  being  the  birthplace  of  John  Adams  ;  the  other,  built 
in  1716,  as  is  inferred  from  that  date  on  a  brick  in  the  old 
chimney,  is  the  birthplace  of  his  son,  John  Quincy  Adams. 

The  former  is  in  the  care  of  the  Daughters  of  the  Revolu- 
tion and  the  latter,  of  the  Quincy  Historical  Society. 

Both  these  houses  have  inner  walls,  the  one  of  burnt,  the 
other  of  unburnt  brick,  and  both  are  unique  (so  far  as  I 
know)  in  having  no  boards  on  the  outer  walls  —  merely 
clapboards  fastened  directly  to  the  studding  with,  of  course, 
wrought-iron  nails. 

The  people  of  Quincy  (a  part  of  Braintree  till  1792)  take 
a  justifiable  pride  in  the  fact  that  their  town  is  the  birth- 
place of  John  Hancock  as  well  as  of  the  Adamses. 

Their  admiration  for  the  Adamses  is  shown  in  the  com- 
memorative tablets  on  each  side  of  the  pulpit  in  the  Unita- 
rian Church,  bearing  testimony  to  their  fidelity,  patriotism, 
and  sterling  character  in  words  of  highest  eulogium.  The 
remains  of  both  the  Adamses  and  their  wives  lie  buried 
beneath  the  massive  stone  walls  of  this  church. 


Hingham.  109 


Hingham  (first  called  "  Bare  Cove,"  as  indicated  by  its 
town  seal)  was  probably  settled  soon  after  Plymouth,  as  the 
first  church  was  erected  in  1635. 

The  present  one,  on  Main  Street,  near  Derby  Academy, 
called  the  "Old  Ship,"  was  built  in  1681  of  large  timber 
hewn  from  white  oak  logs,  even  the  smaller  ones  showing 
plainly  the  marks  of  the  "  broadaxe."  It  claims  the  remark- 
able distinction  of  being  the  oldest  church  in  the  United 
States  now  in  use  as  a  place  of  worship. 

New  and  comfortable  pews  have  taken  the  place  of  the 
old  ones,  but  the  ancient  sounding-board  is  still  here,  and  a 
part  of  the  wood  of  the  old  pulpit  remains.  The  roof  of 
the  old  church  being  a  four-sided  pitch  roof,  the  bell  tower 
stands  exactly  over  the  center,  which  necessitates  the  ring- 
ing of  the  bell  from  within  one  of  the  pews. 

At  first  the  bell  ringer  stood  above,  and,  that  he  might 
know  when  the  minister  came,  an  opening  through  the  ceil- 
ing, covered  by  a  pane  of  glass,  commanded  a  view  of  the 
pulpit. 


Hingham. 


LINCOLN  HOUSE. 

Probably  the  most  famous  dwelling  house  in  Hingham  is 
the  birthplace  of  General  Benjamin  Lincoln.  It  stands  at 
the  center  of  the  town,  on  North  Street,  corner  of  Lincoln. 
It  is  known  to  be  a  very  old  house,  though  the  date  of  its 
erection  cannot  be  ascertained.  It  has  a  decidedly  well-to- 
do  air  about  it,  which,  with  its  pleasant  location,  makes  a 
picture  one  does  not  easily  tire  of  looking  at. 

General  Lincoln  was  born  in  1733  and  died  in  1810.  He 
held  high  command  under  Washington,  and  was  wounded  at 
Bemis  Heights  in  1777.  He  was  put  in  command  of  the 
army  of  the  South,  and,  although  unsuccessful  at  Savannah 
and  obliged  to  surrender  the  city  of  Charleston,  S.  C.,  he 
continued  to  hold  the  respect  of  Washington,  who  appointed 
him  to  receive  the  sword  of  Cornwallis  at  Yorktown.  The 
United  States  has  upon  its  roll  of  honor  few  names  that 
shine  with  a  more  enduring  luster  than  that  of  Lincoln. 

On  the  same  street  and  next  door  is  the  Solomon  Lincoln 
House,  built  before  1747. 

On  South  Street,  corner  of  Central,  is  the 


THAXTER   HOUSE, 

very  venerable  in  appearance,  probably  built  about  1700. 
It  is  overshadowed  by  a  symmetrical  elm  that  must  have 
belonged  to  the  "forest  primeval." 


Sudbury. 


in 


THE   WAYSIDE   INN. 

In  Sudbury,  about  a  mile  from  the  Wayside  Inn  Station, 
on  the  Massachusetts  Central  Railroad,  or  three  miles  from 
Sudbury  Village,  stands  to-day,  in  a  good  state  of  preserva- 
tion, the  Wayside  Inn  immortalized  by  the  pen  of  Longfellow. 

It  is  two  hundred  and  ten  years  old,  and  has  been  used 
for  the  greater  part  of  its  existence  as  a  tavern  under  the 
name  of  the  Red  Horse.  The  proprietor  has  always  been 
some  member  of  the  Howe  family.  It  claims  the  high 
honor  of  having  had  both  Washington  and  Lafayette  as 
guests. 

The  chief  incentive,  however,  to  pilgrimages  to  this 
staunch,  oak-framed  old  tavern  is,  and  doubtless  will  con- 


112  THE    WAYSIDE    INN. 

tinue  to  be,  the  fact  that  the  poet  Longfellow  made  it  the 
scene  of  his  "  Tales  of  a  Wayside  Inn,"  whose  characters, 
I  am  told,  are  the  following  : 


LANDLORD      ....  LYMAN  HOWE. 

STUDENT HENRY  WARE  WALES. 

JEW ISAAC  EDRAELES. 

SICILIAN LUIGI  MONTI. 

MUSICIAN OLE  BULL. 

POET THOMAS  W.  PARSONS. 

THEOLOGIAN  ....  PROF.  TREADWELL,  or 

REV.  SAMUEL  LONGFELLOW. 


As  ancient  is  the  hostelry 
As  any  in  the  land  may  be, 
Built  in  the  old  Colonial  day, 
When  men  lived  in  a  grander  way 
With  ampler  hospitality ; 
A  kind  of  old  Hobgoblin  Hall 
Now  somewhat  fallen  to  decay, 
With  weather  stains  upon  the  wall, 
And  stairways  worn  and  crazy  doors, 
And  creaking  and  uneven  floors, 
And  chimneys  huge  and  tiled  and  tall. 

A  region  it  seems, 

A  place  of  slumber  and  of  dreams, 

Remote  among  the  wooded  hills  ! 

Night  and  day  the  panting  teams 
Stop  under  the  great  oaks  that  throw 
Tangles  of  light  and  shade  below 
On  roofs  and  doors  and  window-sills." 


Sudbury. 


CAPTAIN  SAMUEL  WADSWORTH 
OF  MILTON,  HIS  LIEUTENANT  SHARP  OF 

BROOKLINE,  CAPTAIN  BROCLEBANK 
OF  ROWLEY,  WITH  ABOUT  26  OTHER 

SOULDIERS,  FIGHTING  FOR  THE 
DEFENCE  OF  THEIR  COUNTRY,  WERE 

SLAIN  BY  YE  INDIAN  ENEMY, 

APRIL  l8TH,  1676,  LYE  BURIED 

IN  THIS  PLACE. 


Captain  Wadsworth  and  his  men  were  drawn  into  an 
ambush  near  South  Sudbury,  at  a  place  called  Green  Hill, 
where  the  tablet  now  stands.  It  was  erected  by  President 
Wadsworth,  of  Harvard  College,  a  son  of  the  ill-fated 
captain. 


ii4  Sudbury. 


THE   WALKER   GARRISON  HOUSE. 

Since  about  1660  this  house,  a  two-story  "  lean-to,"  has 
stood  a  silent  witness  to  the  deadly  enmity  then,  and  for  a 
long  time  after,  existing  between  the  white  man  and  the 
Indian  in  the  Colony  ;  for  it  was  built  as  a  place  of  safety 
for  the  people  in  King  Philip's  War,  its  walls  being  made 
of  solid  oak  plank  four  inches  in  thickness. 

This  interesting  old  house  is  in  the  westerly  part  of  the 
town,  very  near  the  Massachusetts  Central  Railroad,  and 
about  one-fourth  of  a  mile  from  the  Wayside  Inn  Station. 


Watertown. 


THE   BROWN   HOUSE. 

About  a  mile  from  Watertown  Center,  on  Main  Street, 
near  Hersom,  is  the  old  Brown  House,  certainly  the  most 
venerable  looking  and  probably  the  oldest  in  Watertown. 
There  seems  to  be  evidence  that  it  was  built  in  1633.  It 
is  now  and  always  has  been  occupied  by  families  by  the 
name  of  Brown.  Its  inner  walls  are  of  brick. 


COCHRANE   HOUSE. 

On  the  river  road,  better  known  as  the  old  W'altham  road, 
stands  the  Cochrane  House,  built  about  1725,  to  which 
some  of  the  wounded  at  the  Concord  fight  were  taken. 


u6  Watertown. 


The  Coolidge  Tavern  of  the  Revolutionary  times,  now 
known  as  the  Brigham  House,  is  the  first  on  the  left  (No. 
40  Galen  Street)  in  crossing  the  bridge  from  Watertown 
toward  Newton.  It  had  the  high  honor  of  furnishing  lodg- 
ing on  one  occasion  to  the  first  president  of  the  United 
States,  while  making  a  tour  of  New  England  in  1789. 


THIS  STONE  MARKS  THE  SITE 

OF  THE  DWELLING  HOUSE  IN 

WHICH  GENERAL  WARREN  SLEPT 

THE  NIGHT  BEFORE  THE  BATTLE 

OF  BUNKER  HILL. 


The  house  that  formerly  stood  here  was  known  as  the 
Marshall  Fowle  House,  and  is  now  standing  at  14  Marshall 
Street.  It  formerly  stood,  as  the  tablet  indicates,  on  Mt. 
Auburn  Street,  corner  of  Marshall. 


Watertown.  117 


THE  OLD  BRIDGE  BY  THE  MILL 
CROSSED  CHARLES  RIVER 

NEAR  THIS  SPOT 
AS  EARLY  AS  164!. 


This  tablet  stands  on  the  bridge  over  the  Charles  at 
Watertown. 

On  the  left  bank  of  the  Charles  River,  where  Stony  Brook 
joins  it,  stands  Norembega  Tower,  a  picturesque  and  mas- 
sive stone  structure  erected  at  great  expense  by  Professor 
Eben  Norton  Horsford  to  mark  the  site  of  the  city  of  No- 
rembega. The  top  of  the  tower  (reached  by  a  circular  stone 
stairway)  commands  a  fine  view  of  a  portion  of  the  Charles 
River  valley. 

Nothing  could  give  more  striking  evidence  of  strong  con- 
viction of  the  truth  of  his  conclusions  respecting  the  loca- 
tion of  the  "Lost  Norembega"  than  the  expenditure  of 
money  in  the  erection  of  this  tower. 

Upon  its  base  are  elaborate  tablets  appropriately  inscribed. 

Since  the  death  of  her  father  Miss  Cornelia  Horsford, 
with  praiseworthy  zeal,  is  continuing  investigations  to  estab- 
lish beyond  a  doubt,  if  possible,  the  truth  of  the  positions 
so  stoutly  defended  by  him.  A  remarkable  stone  recently 
discovered  by  her  in  the  town  of  Weston,  and  bearing  Runic 
inscriptions,  is  a  possible  link  in  the  chain  of  evidence  lead- 
ing thereto. 


u8 


Chelsea. 


THE   GOVERNOR  BELLINGHAM   MANSION. 

This  is  certainly  as  fine  a  specimen  of  a  Colonial  house 
as  one  meets  with  in  many  a  day's  travel,  and  bears  with 
dignity  the  name  of  mansion.  It  was  undoubtedly  the  sum- 
mer residence  of  Governor  Richard  Bellingham,  as  he  also 
had  a  very  substantial  house  in  Boston,  near  Pemberton 
Square.  He  came  here  from  England  in  1634,  and  became 
one  of  the  wealthiest  and  most  extensive  landholders  of  the 
chartered  company.  In  1641  he  became  Governor,  serving 
ten  years  in  that  capacity,  and  thirteen  as  Deputy-Governor. 

He  was  twice  married,  performing  in  the  second  instance 
the  marriage  ceremony  himself.  For  this  he  was  prose- 
cuted, but  escaped  by  refusing  to  leave  the  bench,  "  thus 
officiating  at  his  own  trial." 

His  sister  was  executed  as  a  witch  in  1656,  being  the 
second  victim  in  America  of  that  "absurd  fanaticism."  A 
writer  of  the  time  says  "  She  was  hanged  for  having  more 
wit  than  her  neighbors."  The  Bellingham  House  is  34 
Parker  Street,  "Caryville."  In  this  old  house,  built  about 
1670,  the  writer  finds  a  feature  that  he  had  often  read  about 


THE     GOVERNOR     BELLINGHAM     MANSION.  119 

and  heard  of  but  had  never  before  seen,  —  a  secret  passage 
connecting  the  cellar  with  a  secret  chamber  in  the  attic  ! 
About  1749  a  gentleman  by  the  name  of  Carey  married  a 
Bellingham,  since  which  time  the  house  has  been  more 
commonly  known  as  the  Carey  Mansion. 


120 


Chelsea. 


THE   PRATT  HOUSE. 

In  all  our  searches  for  famous  old  country  houses,  rarely, 
if  ever,  have  we  found  one  more  satisfying  to  the  eye  than 
is  this,  built,  it  is  supposed,  about  1660.  It  is  a  somewhat 
rare  combination  of  the  "  gambrel  roof  "  and  the  "  lean-to," 
and  is  pleasing  as  a  whole  and  also  when  studied  in  detail. 
It  is  numbered  481  Washington  Avenue. 

It  was  in  this  house  that  Increase  Mather,  —  born  in  Dor- 
chester in  1639,  President  of  Harvard  College,  1684-1701, 
and  pastor  of  the  North  Church,  Boston,  for  sixty-two  years, 
—took  refuge  from  the  persecutions  of  Governor  Andros. 
He  finally  escaped  to  England,  where  he  obtained  a  new 
charter  for  the  Colony.  It  may  be  supposed  that  his 
escape  to  a  vessel  in  the  harbor  was  made  easy  by  the  close 
proximity  of  "  Snake  River,"  that  has  its  rise  almost  at  the 
very  door  of  the  house.  The  house  has  always  been  occu- 
pied by  some  member  of  the  Pratt  family,  the  present 


THE     PRATT     HOUSE.  121 

representative  being  "  aunt  Rebeckah."  She  is  a  real 
"  Daughter  of  the  Revolution,"  her  father  being  a  boy  in 
the  army  and  afterward  a  Revolutionary  pensioner. 

In  1727  the  family  purchased  in  Boston  a  slave  by  the 
name  of  "Jack  Langdon."  The  room  under  the  "lean-to" 
where  he  died  is  pointed  out  to  the  visitor. 

In  a  wall  about  Washington  Park,  Prattville,  is  a  stone  with 
an  inscription  marking  the  Barrack  Grounds  of  Colonel 
Gerrish.  The  stone  was  a  doorstep  to  a  Pratt  house  not 
now  standing. 


122  Salem. 


The  city  of  Salem  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  old 
cities  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,  apart  from 
its  objects  and  places  of  historic  interest.  Its  citizens  take 
a  justifiable  pride  in  the  fame  of  her  great  men,  both  native 
and  adopted. 

Among  her  favorite  native  citizens  may  be  mentioned 
Nathaniel  Bowditch,  born  in  1773,  a  profound  mathema- 
tician and  translator  of  the  Mecanique  Celeste  of  La- 
place ;  William  H.  Prescott,  the  historian,  born  in  1796; 
Professor  Benjamin  Pierce,  of  Harvard  University,  one  of 
the  greatest  mathematicians  of  any  age;  Nathaniel  Haw- 
thorne, born  in  1804,  July  4,  at  27  Union*  Street;  John 
Rogers,  born  in  1829,  corner  of  Washington  and  Lynde 
Streets,  a  famous  sculptor,  noted  for  his  groups  or 
statuettes. 

Among  Salem's  adopted  sons  may  be  mentioned  Judge 
Joseph  Story  (his  son,  W.  W.  Story,  the  sculptor,  was  born 
here,  26  Winter  Street,  in  1819),  Benjamin  Thompson  (Count 
Rumford),  and  General  James  Miller,  author  of  "  I  will  Try, 
Sir  "  at  Lundy's  Lane. 

All  visitors  to  Salem,  if  they  have  an  hour  at  their  dis- 
posal, should  visit  the  Peabody  Museum  and  the  Essex 
Institute,  the  pride  of  her  citizens  and  evidences  of  their 
public  spirit. 

Here  are  to  be  seen, "  without  money  and  without  price," 
not  only  a  rich  collection  of  historic  bric-a-brac  and  curios 
from  foreign  lands  (Salem  being  at  one  time  the  seat  of  the 
East  India  trade),  but  noteworthy  collections  of  the  local 
fauna,  most  conveniently  arranged  for  study  and  compari- 
son, together  with  specimen  minerals  and  Indian  stone 
implements  without  number. 


Salem. 


123 


X 


WARD  HOUSE. 


A  good  type  of  the  old  houses  of  Salem  is  the  Ward 
House,  built  about  1684.  It  is  near  the  foot  of  St.  Peter 
Street,  and  is  remarkable  for  its  second  story  "  overhang." 

At  7 1  Essex  Street  is  the  Narbonne  House,  noticeable  for 
its  "  lean-to."  It  was  built  about  1680,  and  well  represents 
the  houses  of  that  time. 

The  house  numbered  138  Federal  Street  was  built  in 
1782,  and  has  the  honor  of  having  given  entertainment  to 
both  Washington  and  Lafayette. 

"Mi  c- 


.4- 


124 


Salem. 


THE  OLD  FIRST   CHURCH. 

This  church  is  said  to  have  been  originally  a  tavern, 
standing  well  out  in  the  road  to  Lynn.  It  was  afterwards 
removed  to  Washington,  corner  of  Essex  Street,  and  used 
as  a  church. 

It  still  has  its  original  framework,  but  its  preservation 
has  required  a  new  exterior  covering.  It  is  now  a  much 
visited  and  honored  relic,  and  stands  in  the  rear  grounds 
of  the  Essex  Institute. 

Its  extreme  smallness  is  a  surprise  to  the  visitor,  as  is 
also  a  gallery  that  could  have  been  reached  only  by 
means  of  a  ladder. 


Salem. 


IN  THE  REVOLUTION 
THE   FIRST  ARMED   RESISTANCE 

TO  THE  ROYAL  AUTHORITY 
WAS  MADE  AT  THIS  BRIDGE, 

26  FEB.,  1775, 
BY   THE   PEOPLE   OF   SALEM. 

THE  ADVANCE  OF  300 

BRITISH  TROOPS,  LED  BY 

LIEUT. -CoL.  LESLIE  AND  SENT  BY 

GEN.  GAGE  TO  SEIZE 

MUNITIONS  OF  WAR,  WAS 

HERE  ARRESTED. 


The  above  tablet  stands  at  the  Old  North  Bridge,  which 
crosses  North  River  at  the  foot  of  North  Street. 


126  Salem. 


THE   ROGER  WILLIAMS  HOUSE. 

This  quaint  old  house  is  said  to  have  been  built  in  1634, 
thus  disputing  with  the  Cradock  House,  Medford,  the  honor 
of  being  the  oldest  now  standing  in  North  America. 

It  was  from  this  house  that  the  persecution  of  the  General 
Court  at  Boston  drove  Roger  Williams  in  1636  to  become 
the  founder  of  the  State  of  Rhode  Island. 

I*,  is  sometimes  known  as  the  "  Witch  House,"  because 
trials  for  witchcraft  were  begun  here.  It  now  stands,  as 
always,  on  the  corner  of  Essex  and  North  Streets. 


Beverly.  127 


THE   GEORGE   CABOT  HOUSE. 

This  house,  104  Cabot  Street,  though  more  than  a  hun- 
dred years  old,  has  an  air  that  indicates  a  period  more 
modern. 

Beverly  was  at  one  time  the  home  of  three  brothers 
Cabot,  —  Andrew,  John,  and  George,  —  the  last,  the  great- 
grandfather of  Henry  Cabot  Lodge,  being  the  most  famous. 
He  was  at  one  time  a  representative  to  the  Massachusetts 
Provincial  Congress  (1776),  and  also  a  senator  in  Congress, 
and  was  offered  the  Secretaryship  of  the  Navy  by  John 
Adams.  He  was  also  president  of  the  famous  Hartford  Con- 
vention, December,  1814. 

At  this  house  in  October,  1789,  George  Cabot  entertained 
Washington  at  breakfast. 


128 


Beverly. 


••SUNDAY   SCHOOL"   HOUSE. 

On  Front  Street,  corner  of  Davis,  stands  a  modest  and 
unpretending  old  house,  in  which  the  people  of  Beverly 
take  no  inconsiderable  pride,  since  it  lays  claim  to  hav- 
ing furnished  accommodations  to  the  first  Sunday  school 
assembled  in  America. 

It  is  a  matter  of  regret  that  implicit  reliance  cannot  be 
placed  on  all  the  various  claims  of  "  first "  and  "  oldest  " 
that  are  put  forth,  since  about  six  different  towns  in  the 
Commonwealth  lay  claim  to  the  possession  of  the  "oldest 
house  "  now  standing  in  America. 

Robert  Raikes,  of  Gloucester,  England,  was  the  founder 
of  Sunday  schools  in  1781,  and  it  is  quite  probable  that 
Beverly  has  good  ground  for  the  claim  that  she  makes  in 
this  instance. 


Danvers. 


129 


THE  REBECCA   NOURSE   HOUSE. 

Danvers  was  set  off  from  Salem  in  1752  ;  a  part  of  this 
division  became  South  Danvers  in  1855,  and  this,  in  turn, 
became  Peabody  in  1868.  Still,  Danvers  is  a  good-sized 
and  beautiful  town,  made  up  of  Tapleyville,  Danvers 
Plains,  and  Danversport.  Probably  there  is  no  town  of  its 
size  in  the  Commonwealth  that  has  more  houses  of  Colo- 
nial time  now  standing  than  has  the  town  of  Danvers.  A 
good  type  of  these  is  the  Nourse  House,  built  in  1636  by 
Townsend  Bishop,  and  now  standing  in  a  field  west  of  Pine 
Street,  near  Tapleyville.  It  takes  its  name  from  the  good 
woman  who  lived  in  it  at  the  time  of  her  martyrdom  to 
the  witchcraft  delusion,  then  prevalent  in  both  the  Old 
World  and  the  New.  A  monument  to  her  memory  has 
recently  been  erected  among  the  "  Pines,"  not  far  from  the 
house. 


130  Danvers. 


On  Sylvan  Street,  corner  of  Collins,  stands  the  "  Lindens," 
built  by  Robert  Hooper  in  1750,  which  was  the  head- 
quarters of  General  Gage  in  1774.  It  is  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  "  mansions "  of  Colonial  times,  and  is  now  the 
home  of  Mr.  Francis  Peabody. 

On  Maple  Street,  near  Newbury,  stands  the  house  in 
which  General  Israel  Putnam  was  born. 

On  the  corner  of  Elm  and  High  Streets  stands  the  Page 
House,  in  which  General  Gage  had  a  private  office.  The 
Houlton  House,  built  in  1650,  in  which  Judge  Samuel 
Houlton,  a  noted  statesman,  was  born  in  1738,  stands  at 
the  corner  of  Houlton  and  Centre  Streets.  Well  out  in  a 
field  off  Water  Street  is  the  George  Jacobs  House,  in 
which  have  lived  ten  generations  of  that  name.  George 
Jacobs  himself  was  hanged  as  a  wizard  in  1692. 

No  visitor  to  Danvers  would  willingly  omit  seeing  the 
house  built  about  1675  by  a  son  of  Governor  Endicott, 
and  now  owned  by  a  descendant  of  the  same  name.  It 
is  near  Danversport  Station,  and,  though  very  old,  seems 
well  preserved.  The  famous  old  pear  tree,  planted  in  1630 
by  Governor  Endicott,  is  still  to  be  seen  in  a  field  not 
far  from  the  house.  It  now  bears  fruit  and  shows  as  to 
its  upper  branches  a  good  degree  of  vigor,  notwithstand- 
ing its  trunk  has  been  sadly  riven  and  blasted  by  the 
storms  and  winds  of  more  than  two  and  a  half  centuries. 


Danvers.  131 


On  Centre  Street,  near  Newbury,  may  be  seen  an  interest- 
ing old  house,  the  birthplace  of  Colonel  Israel  Hutchinson, 
built  in  1726.  The  Colonel  was  a  brave  and  famous  fighter, 
and  much  esteemed  by  Washington.  He  went  to  Maine 
with  an  expedition  against  the  Indians ;  was  in  the  action 
at  Ticonderoga ;  scaled  the  Heights  of  Abraham  with 
General  Wolfe;  led  a  company  of  "Minute-men"  April  19, 
1775,  and  was  prominent  in  the  siege  of  Boston. 

A  monument  to  the  memory  of  Colonel  Hutchinson  has 
recently  been  unveiled  at  the  site  of  his  home,  Danversport. 
On  Forest  Street  stands  the  Ambrose  Hutchinson  House, 
built  in  1708;  on  Maple  Street,  the  Jesse  Putnam  House, 
built  about  1750,  where  Mrs.  Jesse  Putnam  died  at  the  age 
of  one  hundred  and  two  years.  The  Haines  House,  which 
stands  on  Centre  Street,  was  built  about  1650.  The  Ann 
Putnam  House  is  still  standing  on  the  old  Middletown  road. 
Ann  Putnam,  at  the  age  of  twelve  years,  was  probably  the 
chief  cause  of  the  witchcraft  trouble  of  the  time. 

Sixty  years  after  the  battle  of  Lexington  the  citizens  of 
Danvers  erected  a  granite  monument  to  the  memory  of  her 
seven  sons,  who  fell  in  the  battle,  April  19,  1775.  It  stands 
on  Main  Street  at  the  head  of  Washington,  Peabody. 


132 


Topsfield. 


THE  PARSON  CAPEN  HOUSE. 

Topsfield  was  settled  in  1639  by  people  from  Ipswich  and 
Salem,  it  being  a  part  of  the  latter,  or  Naumkeag,  till  1650, 
when  it  was  incorporated  under  its  present  name.  Previous 
to  its  becoming  a  separate  town  it  was  known  as  the  "New 
Meadows." 

Mary  Estes  and  Sarah  Wildes  of  this  town  were  executed 
as  witches  in  1692,  during  the  strange  witchcraft  delusion. 

Here  are  to  be  seen  a  considerable  number  of  pre- Revolu- 
tionary houses,  the  oldest  and  most  interesting  one  being 
the  Parson  Capen  House,  built  in  1686  by  the  Rev.  Joseph 


THE     PARSON     CAPEN     HOUSE.  133 

Capen,  who  removed  to  Topsfield  from  Dorchester  in  1683. 
It  is  noticeable  for  its  second  story  overhang  in  front  and 
third  story  overhang  at  the  end.  It  is  still  occupied  and  is 
in  good  preservation,  though  it  was  never  painted.  This 
suggests  the  query,  why  should  we  paint  our  houses  ? 
Think  of  improving  the  rich,  mellow  tints  of  time  by  paint- 
ing this  fine  old  antique  ! 

Every  one  in  town  knows  the  old  house,  which  is  reached 
by  a  five  minutes'  walk  from  the  railroad  station, 


134 


Ipswich. 


THE   SALTONSTALL-WHIPPLE   HOUSE. 

One  is  inclined  at  once  to  grant  any  claim  to  old  age  that 
might  be  made  for  this  house,  for  never  have  we  seen  one 
bearing  more  striking  evidences  of  early  origin.  It  claims 
to  have  been  built  in  1633,  the  year  of  the  settlement,  thus 
antedating  by  one  year  the  "  Old  Fort  "  of  Medford.  It  has 
walls  of  brick  and  stone,  hidden  from  view  (like  those  of 

\ the  Adams  houses)  by  an  outer  covering  of  boards.  The 

smallness  of  the  panes  of  glass  and  the  extreme  length  of 
the  "lean-to  "  are  very  noticeable. 

Other  Ipswich  houses  of  Colonial  times  are  the  Bond 
House  (1640),  the  Dodge  House  (1640),  the  Norton  House 
(1650),  the  Caldwell  House  (1660),  the  Whittlesey  House 
(1640),  and  probably  one  or  more  others. 


Saugus. 


THE  HILL-BOARDMAN  HOUSE. 

This  house  fairly  caps  the  climax  !  It  is  sufficiently  pic- 
turesque and  antique  to  please  the  most  fastidious  connois- 
seur of  things  old.  It  is  not  only  a  "  lean-to  "  of  an  extreme 
type,  but  is  also  an  "  overhang,"  whose  principal  roof  is 
formed  by  a  sort  of  double  reversal  of  the  "  gambrel  " 
style. 

For  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  it  has  over- 
looked the  same  beautiful  landscape  in  North  Saugus. 

This  house  has  been  made  the  subject  of  a  fine  etching 
with  an  imaginary  river  in  front. 


'36 


Lynn. 


A  WOLF  PIT. 

Partly  owing  to  the  fact  that  Lynn  was  practically  an 
inland  town,  in  consequence  of  the  shallowness  of  the 
waters  of  her  harbor,  few  important  events  in  Colonial  his- 
tory took  place  here. 

The  city,  or,  more  properly,  the  beautiful  Walden  Park, 
contains  at  least  two  relics  of  "ye  olden  tyme"of  much 
interest  to  students  of  our  early  history.  These  are  the 
wolf  pits,  of  which  history  states  there  were  many  in  the 
Colonies.  If  there  are  any  others  in  existence  at  the  pres- 
ent time,  the  writer  has  never  heard  of  them. 

By  means  of  rude  measurements  made  by  the  author, 
these  were  ascertained  to  be  about  eight  feet  in  length,  six 
or  seven  feet  in  depth,  by  two  feet  in  width.  They  are 
walled  up  in  a  very  substantial  manner,  as  may  be  judged 
from  the  fact  that  they  have  retained  their  original  form 
admirably  during  all  the  years  since  1630. 


A     WOLF     PIT.  137 

It  is  commendable  that  the  city  has  them  protected  by 
means  of  substantial  iron  fences. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  find  the  Wolf  Pits  when  one  has 
reached  the  foot  of  Walden  Pond.  The  excellent  road  on 
the  north  side  of  the  pond  very  soon  brings  one  to  a  "woods  " 
road  diverging  toward  the  north  and  marked  "  To  the 
Wolf  Pits." 


138  Swampscott. 


THE  BLANEY  HOUSE. 

Swampscott,  formerly  a  part  of  Lynn,  has  its  full  share  of 
the  picturesque  and  the  beautiful.  It  can  also  point  to 
some  things  ancient.  For  example,  at  290  Humphrey 
Street,  we  find  the  Blaney  House.  This  house  was  built 
in  1640  by  a  Captain  King.  He  sold  it  soon  after  to 
John  Blaney,  whose  heirs  still  own  it.  Its  inner  walls  are 
of  stone. 

The  Humphrey  House,  recently  removed,  is  now  99  Para- 
dise Road.  It  was  built  in  1634  by  John  Humphrey,  of 
wood  and  bricks  brought  from  Scotland,  some  of  the  bricks 
bearing  the  name  "  Cumbernauld,"  a  town  near  Glasgow. 

John  Humphrey's  wife,  Susan,  was  a  daughter  of  the 
Earl  of  Lincoln.  He  was  chosen  an  Assistant  soon  after 
his  arrival,  and  received  a  grant  of  five  hundred  acres  of 
land  in  Lynn,  now  Lynnfield,  including  the  beautiful  pond 
that  now  bears  his  name. 

He  returned  to  England  in  1641. 


Charlestown.  139 


In  passing  in  review  the  more  important  historic  spots  of 
Boston  and  vicinity  there  can  be  no  more  fitting  climax  than 
that  furnished  by  the  history  of  the  battle  of 


BUNKER  HILL. 

Since  then  this  spot  has  witnessed  two  magnificent  and 
inspiring  pageants,  the  one  being  the  occasion  of  the  laying 
of  the  corner-stone  of 


BUNKER   HILL  MONUMENT. 

General  Lafayette  was  present,  and  Daniel  Webster  de- 
livered a  dedicatory  oration. 

Among  his  memorable  sayings  at  this  time  is : 

"  Let  it  rise  till  it  meet  the  sun  in  its  coming ;  let  the 
earliest  light  of  the  morning  gild  it,  and  parting  day  linger 
and  play  on  its  summit." 

"  The  celebration,"  says  Frothingham,  "  was  unequaled 
in  magnificence  by  anything  of  the  kind  that  had  been  seen 
in  New  England." 

Conspicuous  honor  was  paid  to  forty  survivors  of  the 
battle  who  were  present. 

The  second  great  pageant  was  the  celebration  in  honor 
of  the  completion  of  the  monument,  Daniel  Webster  again 
being  the  orator,  and  the  president  of  the  United  States, 
John  Tyler,  honoring  the  occasion  by  his  presence. 

"  Before  the  orator  and  around  him,"  says  the  historian 
quoted  above,  "  was  an  immense  concourse  of  people.  A 
hundred  thousand,  at  least,  had  gathered  on  the  hallowed 
spot." 

The  monument  stands  on  the  ground  inclosed  by  the 
redoubt  defended  by  Colonel  Prescott  on  June  17,  1775.  It 
is  an  obelisk  of  Quincy  granite  30  feet  square  at  the  base 
and  15  feet  square  near  the  top,  is  220  feet  high,  and  cost 
about  $120,000. 


140  BUNKER     HILL    MONUiMENT. 

During  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  the  British  set  fire  to 
the  town,  destroying  nearly  all  the  houses,  most  of  those 
that  escaped  being  on  Mill  Street. 

The  oldest  now  standing  in  the  city  is  a  three-story  wooden 
building  numbered  201  Main  Street,  and  bears  on  its  front 
a  tablet  with  the  following  inscription  : 


HERE  WAS  BORN 
SAMUEL  FINLEY  BREESE  MORSE, 

27  APRIL,  1791, 

INVENTOR  OF  THE 

ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH. 


Professor  Morse  was  graduated  at  Yale  in  1810,  studied 
art  in  England  under  Benjamin  West,  and  designed  an  elec- 
tric telegraph  in  1832.  Congress  granted  him  an  appropria- 
tion for  a  line  between  Baltimore  and  Washington,  which 
was  completed  in  1844. 

Within  a  year  there  has  been  dug  up  on  the  grounds  of 
this  old  house  a  solid  six-pound  cannon  shot,  —  a  grim  re- 
minder of  the  battle. 

The  first  settlement  in  Charlestown  was  in  1628. 

The  town  became  a  city  in  1847,  and  was  annexed  to 
Boston  in  1873. 


Miscellaneous    Old    Houses.  141 


MISCELLANEOUS   OLD    HOUSES. 

The  search  for  old  houses  and  historic  spots  has  greatly 
grown  upon  us  year  by  year,  and  proved  a  much  more 
fruitful  subject  than  we  had  previously  supposed  possible. 
One  notes  with  pleasure  the  existence  still  of  interesting 
old  houses  in  nearly  every  town  on  the  coast  from  Plym- 
outh to  Portland. 

The  only  house  now  standing  in  Plymouth  at  any  time 
occupied  by  a  member  of  the  Mayflower  Pilgrims  is  the 
Rowland  House,  built  in  1666.  The  Doten  House,  how- 
ever, is  six  years  older,  and  stands  on  Sandwich  Street.  In 
Sandwich  is  still  standing  and  well  preserved,  the  Tupper 
House.  It  is  pleasant  to  look  upon,  but  we  have  not  been 
able  to  learn  its  history. 


Burlington  has  the  famous  Samuel  Sewall  House,  built 
before  1751.  It  is  on  Lexington  road,  about  a  fourth  of 
a  mile  from  the  meeting-house,  and  noted  as  the  place 
of  concealment  of  Hancock  and  Adams  after  their  flight 
from  Lexington,  April  19,  1775. 


In  Duxbury  we  find  two  especially  interesting  old  houses, — 
the  Alden  House,  built  in  1653,  and  occupied  by  nine  gen- 
erations of  Aldens,  and  the  Standish  House,  built  by  a  son 
of  Myles  Standish  in  1666,  partly  from  timbers  saved  from 
the  burning  of  the  house  of  his  father. 


Winthrop  has  an  interesting  old  house,  built  in  1649  by 
Deane  Winthrop,  son  of  the  good  Governor  John  Winthrop. 
It  is  on  Shirley  Street,  near  Ocean  Spray  station. 


142  MISCELLANEOUS    OLD     HOUSES. 

Marblehead  contains  half  a  dozen  or  more  old  houses, 
the  most  famous  being  that  of  Colonel  Jeremiah  Lee,  on 
Washington  Street,  near  Abbot  Hall.  It  is  a  massive, 
three-story  brick  building,  and  otherwise  remarkable  for 
having  a  hallway  about  eighteen  feet  square. 


Great  changes  are  often  made  by  the  "  march  of  improve- 
ment "  ;  sometimes  equally  great  changes  are  made  by  the 
very  reverse  of  "improvement." 

One  dislikes  to  see  the  homes  of  famous  men  elbowed 
and  shouldered  and  crowded  by  their  more  pretentious 
neighbors.  Such  is  the  fate  of  a  house,  now  numbered 
342^2  Hanover  Street,  near  the  corner  of  Bennett,  built  by 
Increase  Mather  in  1677,  and  in  it  his  son  Cotton  was  born. 
The  Mather  tomb  is  in  Copp's  Hill-burying  ground. 


The  Clough-Vernon  House, 

is  a  good  specimen  of   overhang,  situated  on  Vernon  Place, 
off  Charter  Street,  and  was  built  before  1698. 


The  Blake  House 

stands  in  the  rear  of  Cottage  Street,  Dorchester,  and  was 
built  in  1650  by  Elder  James  Blake,  a  man  prominent  in  the 
affairs  of  the  town,  as  is  shown  in  a  continuous  service  in 
some  official  capacity  for  more  than  twenty-five  years. 


The   Aspinwall   House 

is  perhaps  the  most  famous  old  house  of  which  the  town  of 
Brookline  can  boast.  It  was  built  in  1660  by  Peter  Aspin- 
wall, has  always  been  owned  by  some  member  of  the  family, 
and  stands  on  Aspinwall  Avenue.  William  Aspinwall,  born 


MISCELLANEOUS     OLD     HOUSES.  143 

in  Brookline  in  1743  (presumably  in  the  old  house  above 
mentioned),  was  a  physician  of  note,  fought  as  a  volunteer 
in  the  battle  of  Lexington,  and  became  a  surgeon  in  the 
Revolutionary  Army. 


The  Peak  House 

of  Medfield  has  been  admired,  talked  about,  written  up, 
and  illustrated  in  magazines  and  histories  repeatedly,  and 
the  impression  given  that  it  is  the  sole  survivor  of  the 
torch  of  the  Indians  of  King  Philip  in  1676.  The  mistake 
arises  probably  from  the  extreme  quaintness  of  its  shape. 
It  was  probably  built  about  1762. 


Medway  was  a  part  of  Medfield  till  1713,  when  it  was 
incorporated  as  a  separate  town,  the  Charles  River  forming 
the  boundary  between  the  two. 

Here  is  to  be  seen  in  good  condition  the 


Clark  House 

built  in  1710,  and  now  occupied  by  Putnam  R.  Clark. 

It  will  be  of  interest,  at  least  to  young  folks,  to  remember 
that  "Oliver  Optic  "  (William  T.  Adams)  was  born  here. 


Marshfield   has  the    Governor  Winslow  House,  built   in 
1650,  which  was  for  a  time  the  home  of  Daniel  Webster. 


Lincoln  has  the  Whitman  House,  built  in  1700.  It  is 
two  miles  from  the  center  of  the  town,  on  the  road  from 
Waltham  to  Stowe.  Also  a  half  mile  from  the  Center,  on 
the  Lexington  road,  the  "L"  part  of  the  Flint  House  is  still 
standing,  and  is  supposed  to  be  two  hundred  and  fifty  years 
old. 


144  MISCELLANEOUS    OLD     HOUSES. 

Andover  has,  among  several  old  houses,  that  of  the 
famous  Anne  Bradstreet,  a  relationship  with  whom  has  been 
claimed  by  Richard  H.  Dana,  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  and 
William  Ellery  Channing.  This  house  is  supposed  to  have 
been  built  in  1667. 


Let  the  American  youth  never  forget  that  they  possess 
a  noble  inheritance,  bought  by  the  toils  and  the  sufferings 
and  blood  of  their  ancestors.  —  JOSEPH  STORY. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


NOV  2  6  t956 
.DEC  2  7  1961 


OCT  0 


1990 


Form  L9-100m-9,'52(A3105)444 


THE  BK3RARY 

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